What does a pelvic health evaluation look like?
Your first session will be an initial evaluation:
1. The first part of your evaluation will involve a review of your history and your story with plenty of time for you to describe your exact problems and goals.
2. The second part of the session will be an objective examination of your body to help identify the root cause of your symptoms. The motion of your spine and hips will be assessed. Some palpation (touching) of your muscles, abdomen, and joints will be necessary and may reproduce your symptoms in the first session to allow for proper understanding of the exact cause.
3. The final part of your first session will be treatment. This is usually a mixture of personalized education, exercise, and manual therapy.
Follow up sessions will primarily focus on continued education, manual therapy, and progression of exercises which will be tailored for your exact needs and goals.
Do I need to have an internal pelvic floor examination?
No you do not. You always have a choice as to what you feel most comfortable with during your assessment. Your PT may recommend an internal assessment based on your symptoms, but this is always an open discussion. External assessment and treatment of other regions of the body is always an alternative if you are not comfortable with direct treatment of the pelvic floor.