Pelvic Floor Therapy in Scarborough, Saco & Bath, Maine: What to Expect at Your First Visit?
Dr. Jenn providing manual therapy for a patient in Scarborough, Maine.
Pelvic floor therapy typically does not look or feel like your traditional physical therapy. If you are seeking this kind of care, you may be pregnant or postpartum, and/or you might be experiencing incontinence, pelvic pain, painful intercourse, constipation, low back pain, hip pain, or other pelvic health concerns.
If you are dealing with any of these issues, a pelvic floor evaluation is an excellent next step — and we’re here to guide you through it at our Root To Rise Physical Therapy & Pelvic Health clinics in Scarborough, Saco, and Bath, Maine.
What Is Pelvic Floor Therapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapists and occupational therapists are trained in the evaluation and treatment of orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions, with advanced training in pelvic health.
Many women believe they just have to live with symptoms like painful intercourse, urinary leakage, or pelvic pressure after pregnancy — but that’s simply not true. While these symptoms are common, they are not normal, and you do not have to manage them alone.
At Root To Rise, pelvic floor therapy can help drastically improve or completely eliminate these symptoms, while giving you the tools to return to the activities you love safely and confidently.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
If you’re coming in for an in-person pelvic floor evaluation at one of our Maine clinics, here’s what to expect:
When you arrive, you’ll be warmly greeted and go through a brief health screening. Then we’ll begin your evaluation with an in-depth conversation — this is truly the most important part of your first visit.
We want to learn all about your story.
Some topics we’ll cover include:
Your medical and health history
Your current symptoms or concerns
Your bladder and bowel habits
Your lifestyle: daily activities, work, exercise, and self-care
Your learning style
Your personal goals for therapy
From that point onward, we are a team.
The Musculoskeletal Assessment
Next, we’ll perform a musculoskeletal assessment, which looks very similar to a traditional physical therapy evaluation.
We’ll look at your posture, breathing patterns, and movement in positions such as sitting, standing, squatting, and lifting. We’ll assess the strength and mobility of your abdomen, spine, hips, and pelvis — because treating the pelvic floor means looking at the whole body, not just one part of it.
Understanding the Pelvic Floor
Your therapist will introduce you to the anatomy and function of your pelvic floor and explain how it relates to your specific symptoms or condition. They’ll also describe the process for both external and internal pelvic floor assessments.
An internal assessment may be part of your evaluation, but it’s never required. The pelvic floor muscles live inside the pelvis, and the best way to assess them is through the vaginal or rectal area. These tissues (including muscles, tendons, fascia, and bone) are just like anywhere else in the body.
The internal exam helps us understand how your muscles are functioning at rest and during movement. However, this part of the exam does not need to happen on your first day, or at all. It’s a decision we’ll make together.
Before any internal assessment, your therapist will step out of the room, and you’ll undress from the waist down and get comfortable under a sheet. During the exam, your therapist will gently assess the muscles both externally and internally to evaluate strength, endurance, coordination, and any areas of tenderness.
We do not use a speculum or stirrups, and our goal is to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible.
👉 To learn more about what happens during the internal exam, check out our related post:
What To Expect During an Internal Pelvic Floor Exam and Internal Manual Pelvic Floor Treatment
After the Assessment
After your musculoskeletal and pelvic floor assessments, your therapist will review findings and recommendations with you. Then, we’ll create a plan of action together.
Because your initial evaluation is 90 minutes, there’s often time for some initial treatment as well.
Your first treatment may include:
Postural retraining
Breathwork & yoga-based movement
Functional movement training
Corrective exercise
Manual therapy
Soft tissue massage or myofascial release
Joint mobilization
Kinesiotaping or McConnell taping
Dry needling
You’ll leave your first visit with a personalized home program, which may include:
Yoga and stretching
Strengthening exercises
Self-treatment strategies
Bladder and bowel retraining tips
Staying Connected Between Sessions
Open communication is essential for your progress. You’ll have secure messaging access to your therapist through our patient portal, as well as email support between sessions. We’re always here for you. Your care doesn’t stop when you leave the clinic.
Begin Your Pelvic Health Journey in Maine
Your pelvic floor therapy evaluation is an important step toward feeling your best and improving your quality of life. While it can feel intimidating to discuss these personal topics at first, you’ll leave feeling relieved, informed, and empowered.
If you’re searching for a pelvic floor physical therapist in Scarborough, Saco, or Bath, Maine, our compassionate team at Root To Rise Physical Therapy & Pelvic Health is here to support you every step of the way.
To Learn more about the internal exam, see our Blog Post What To Expect During An Internal Pelvic Floor Exam and Internal Manual Pelvic Floor Treatment
Schedule your FREE 30 minute consultation with one of our pelvic health physical therapists:
