“My doctor strongly recommended that I receive pelvic floor physical therapy, but I don’t really know what it is or why I am here.”
“I want to let you know right away that I have been pretty nervous about this appointment and do not know what to expect.”
“I did not even know pelvic floor physical therapy existed until my doctor recommended it, but I’m so excited to be here and get my body back on track!”
I have heard the above phrases and others very similar a countless amount of times at the beginning of a treatment session with a new patient. All of these thoughts are valid, and we want you to express them so that we know how to make you feel as comfortable and educated as possible!
Pelvic floor physical therapy was new to all of us at one time. While MOJO Pelvic Health is made up of a team of pelvic floor specialists, that expertise did not happen overnight. It has taken us years of training, practicing, listening to lectures, and attending courses to develop the skill set that we now have and continue to grow in order to help empower our patients and restore their lives.
All that to say, you are not alone if you don’t know what the pelvic floor is or what to expect on your first visit.
Our desire is to educate you and to empower you so that you leave physical therapy, tell your friends all about pelvic PT, and soon the opening statements will be heard less and less as awareness of pelvic floor physical therapy increases.
So let’s dive into what that first appointment looks like.
All of our treatment sessions occur in a private treatment room. We recognize that these are sensitive topics and often topics and symptoms that are not talked about much in day to day life, therefore, our treatment sessions are one-on-one (patient and physical therapist), completely confidential. If you would like to bring a partner, friend, or spouse into the treatment session, you are more than welcome to do that. We want you to feel like this is a completely “safe zone”; sometimes that means being alone but sometimes that means having your “person” there with you.
The beginning of our first treatment session is centered around...talking! Not so bad, right? We want to hear about your symptoms, understand your goals and areas of your life that you feel have been lost or gone off track, answer questions, listen to your concerns, and educate you on your body, your pelvic floor, and how we can help resolve your symptoms. We want you to feel completely confident in why you are receiving pelvic floor physical therapy and how we can help you! We want you to feel empowered and educated about your amazing body so that we can set a plan and work TOGETHER to get you back to where you want to be.
After we talk, ask and answer questions, and explain the purpose, procedure, and benefits of various treatment methods, we will perform an assessment in order to establish a foundation for treatments moving forward. All of our treatment plans look different from patient to patient because we know that our bodies are not “one size fits all”. I may have 3 patients with the same exact symptoms but different treatment approaches for each one based on what that specific patient needs and how their body is responding.
We cater your treatment specifically to YOU and what YOU need.
An initial assessment may consist of several of the following: posture assessment, strength assessment, breathing assessment in various positions, back and hip mobility, myofascial tissue and scar mobility or tenderness, internal pelvic floor assessment and treatment, and others based on your symptoms. Before performing any type of assessment, we will explain WHAT we are going to do and WHY it is important in order for us to be most prescriptive with treatments, exercises, etc. moving forward.
THIS IS IMPORTANT →
I always reiterate to my patients that “You are in the driver’s seat!”. What do I mean by that? As a physical therapist who cares about my patients and wants the absolute best for them, I will always recommend what I believe is the most beneficial and effective treatment, however, I am never going to force anything. At the end of the day, you as the patient call the shots and have all the freedom to express what you are or are not comfortable with, and we will always respect what you need.
At the end of the treatment session, we will give you some expectations regarding future treatment sessions, how often we would like to see you, and most likely some homework to do at home in between treatments. We understand that your time is valuable, and we do not want to overload you with a laundry list of exercises or stretches to perform at home because we know this is not always realistic. We will often give you two to four key things to work on during the week so that you continue making progress in between our appointments together.
Our motto at MOJO is:
We See You. We Hear You. We Understand You.
Keep this at the forefront of your mind as you enter into that first pelvic floor PT session. You and your goals are our priority, and we want to make you feel as comfortable as possible. While a lot of the things we talk about regarding the pelvic floor and your various symptoms may be considered “taboo” topics in society, know that our team talks about these things all day, every day - none of this feels taboo to us. While you may feel alone in your symptoms because no one talks about them, know that you are NOT alone. You are NOT abnormal or broken. Countless men and women are walking around with very similar symptoms, and there is help! This is our specialty, and we are not bothered in the least bit by hearing the details of what’s going on - this actually helps us to help you in the most effective way!
Take heart! Our bodies are intricately designed and very resilient. Old habits can be broken, dysfunction can be restored to health, muscles that have “fallen asleep” can be turned back on and strengthened. We at MOJO Pelvic Health can’t wait to help you on your journey to a healthy, happy, and pain free life.
