Women's Health at Touch of Life Physical Therapy

Our women's health program addresses many of the health concerns that face women: incontinence, pelvic/ vaginal pain, prenatal and postpartum musculoskeletal pain, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, rehabilitation following breast surgery, education prevention, wellness and exercise. Our therapists use every facet of their physical therapy training to evaluate and treat female clients, promoting and enhancing health through the life span. All treatments are individually designed after thorough evaluation.


Women's Health Program

At Touch of Life Physical Therapy we recognize that women have special health needs. The aches and pains women experience associated with pregnancy, urinary incontinence, osteoporosis, or muscular/pelvic pain can be reduced or even eliminated with physical therapy. We offer individualized attention, meaning you will be treated by your physical therapist from the beginning to the end of the treatment.

Our program offers multiple strategies to help you heal from a variety of conditions including:

Pregnancy Related Musculoskeletal Pain
During pregnancy women can experience postural, hormonal and physical changes that can lead to new musculoskeletal pain or worsen existing conditions, both treatable by physical therapists. Common areas of pain include the upper and lower back, buttocks, tailbone and groin pain. Symptoms also commonly radiate down one or both legs. Through individual evaluation and treatment our physical therapists can effectively provide manual techniques to decrease pain, create safe strength and conditioning programs, and supply you with support belts as needed. Our goal is to help you gain strength and stability and prepare you to hold, carry and play with your child with very little or no pain.

Incontinence
Incontinence is the inability to stop urine leakage. Incontinence affects up to 10 million women in the U.S., and not only the elderly. Incontinence can be caused by weakness of the pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles form a sling to help support bladder and other organs. Weakened pelvic floor muscles can be caused by a number of different issues: surgery, childbirth, infection, chronic constipation, repeated high impact activities, and menopause. Pelvic floor muscle strengthening and re-education has been shown to reduce or eliminate these symptoms in 85% of people suffering with this condition. Incontinence can also be caused by an irritated bladder, overactive pelvic floor muscles or urge symptoms. This type of incontinence can also be effectively treated with bladder retraining and nutritional information. Our goal is to give you the most effective combination of treatments to address your specific needs, while ensuring your comfort.

Pelvic Pain
Women experience pelvic pain in a variety of ways. Some women experience painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea), vaginal spasms (vaginismus), painful sex (dyspareunia), irritable bowel syndrome, or chronic diffuse pelvic or vaginal pain (vulvodynia). Often the pain is a result of muscular spasm due to child birth or injury. Menopause can also cause a thinning of the lining of the vagina which can lead to pain and discomfort. Physical therapy treatments including myofascial release techniques (soft-tissue work), biofeedback (muscle re-education) and relaxation techniques can be used to effectively treat these conditions. We want you to know there is no need to endure a chronic pain condition which decreases the quality of your life.

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is the loss of bone density and strength. Approximately 30% of menopausal women have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and 54% have been diagnosed with osteopenia – the precursor to osteoporosis. Exercise has been shown to improve bone strength and improve range of motion. At Touch of Life Physical Therapy we will work with you to help develop a safe exercise program that will help you regain your strength, develop a more active lifestyle, and prevent injury.

Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome described by patients as widespread aching, burning, stabbing, or throbbing of the muscles in the body. Patients with fibromyalgia also tend to experience headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, intense pelvic pain, tempormandibular joint disorder (TMJD), sleep disturbances and chronic fatigue. It often hurts to be touched. We use a treatment technique called Reflex Relaxation Technique™ that helps to quiet the pain and relax the body through light and gentle touch in specific patterns. Many of our patients have found relief with this technique in conjunction with other manual therapy treatment.