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The Issue
Pelvic health physical therapy is a vital part of recovery in the postpartum period. It can aid in muscle control, tissue repair, and healing internal portions of cesarean section scars. However, many mothers lack access to and awareness of the benefits of pelvic health physical therapy. Even some health care providers may not understand the importance of pelvic health physical therapy in the postpartum period. This can lead to delays in, or even an absence of, proper postpartum care — which can have lifelong negative effects for mothers.
Why it Matters
Pelvic health physical therapists practicing in this field treat individuals across the gender spectrum and life span for pelvic health-related conditions. They are part of a collaborative care team aimed at empowering patients to be active participants in their care and well-being. However, lack of awareness of pelvic health physical therapy and its importance is hampering the ability of pelvic health physical therapists to provide — and postpartum patients to receive — this vitally-needed care. Enactment of the Optimizing Postpartum Outcomes Act (H.R. 2480) would close this information gap, ensuring that postpartum individuals can access the care they need.
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Recommended Content
Mar 22, 2024 / Position Paper
APTA strongly supports legislation that will raise awareness of the availability and importance of pelvic health services.
Additional Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Content
Jul 1, 2022 / Article
This CPG describes the evidence for physical therapist interventions used in the conservative management of adults with functional constipation, a nonpathological bowel condition resulting in difficulty with defecation.
Article
Self-administered brief questionnaire with purpose of differentiating between stress and urge urinary incontinence in women.
Article
Measures three domains related to sexual functioning as well as an overall sexual function score.
Article
A 6 point Oxford scale (0=no contraction, 1=flicker, 2=weak, 3=moderate, 4=good (with lift), and 5=strong) used during internal examination to measure pelvic floor muscle strength in women. (4)
Article
Target population: People with sexual function disorders.
Article
Measures effect of symptoms on quality of life and participation.
Article
This test summary is under development, but the test itself can be downloaded from the Get Test link below
Article
Measures the confidence level of adults over the age of 65 in reducing or preventing urinary incontinence (UI).