What to ask a pelvic health specialist?

Do you know what questions to ask when seeing a pelvic health specialist for the first time?

No I didn't either- which is why I thought it would be a great idea to share what I now know I should have asked.

Seeing a pelvic health specialist can be a great idea because they are able to see and feel what is going on internally to get a better understanding of how the pelvic floor muscles are functioning.

When you see a pelvic health specialist may determine what they pick up during the appointment. If you suspect you have a prolapse and/or pelvic floor dysfunction then seeing them when your symtoms are usually at their worst will give them a better idea of what you're living with.

Prolapse symptoms and pelvic floor function can be worse at the end of the day when muscles have become fatigued and load has been higher, than for example, during the night.

Ask your specialist to........

➡️Examine you lying down and standing up: your symptoms may be different in those two positions.

➡️Check the function of your pelvic floor when contracting and releasing: it’s just an important to be able to release the pelvic floor as it is to contract the pelvic floor. Get your specialist to check how well you contract and release. This will inform what exercises you do to improve your pelvic floor function. The lateral breathing, postural principles and apnea breath in hypopressives really help to rebalance the tone of the pelvic floor ensuring the pelvic floor releases and contracts.

➡️ Check the resting tone of your pelvic floor, are you able to relax or are the muscles tense: the pelvic floor should have the right amount of tone, too much tone can cause symptoms and prevent the pelvic floor from moving in it’s full range. Hypopressives really help with optimal tone. The lateral breathing will help the pelvic floor lengthen, helping with high tone and hypertonic pelvic floor.

➡️ Check how well you manage pressure - ask them to see what happens to the pelvic floor and core when you cough. We want the core and pf to manage pressure when we do things such as cough, laugh, run, jump and sneeze. If you are not managing pressure focus on posture, lateral breathing and hypopressives.

➡️ Check your breathing: first and foremost make sure you’re not a paradoxical breather - a breathing pattern that’s the opposite to normal breathing. Assess whether you are a shallow breather, chest breather or belly breather and then practice lateral breathing and hypopressives to bring about better breathing function.

➡️ Check your posture in lying and standing: posture can play a huge part in how well we manage pressure. Postural alignment will not only improve breathing function but it helps the body manage pressure and support the organs. Learn postural alignment in hypopressives and other postural principles to improve muscle activation to better support the function of the body.

➡️ Check the function of the supporting muscles: is there anything going on in the rest of the body that might be influencing your pelvic health? Get the specialist to check how the muscles and bones function to support your pelvic health. The feet, glutes, adductors, shoulder girdle and jaw can all impact the function of the pelvic floor.

➡️ Ask for exercises and lifestyle tips- not just kegels! There’s so much more to pelvic health than kegels. Make sure you ask for some exercises that activate and strengthen the pelvic floor a well as lengthen. Hypopressives is a practice that has it all- it improves breathing and synergistic movement of the diaphragm and pelvic floor, helps the pelvic floor work more in it’s full range, strengthens the pelvic floor, builds proprioception and strengthens the supporting muscles and fascia.

Seeing a specialist can help better inform your recovery plan. I suggest seeing a specialist before or during your hypopressives journey so that we can tailor your practice to help improve symptoms more effectively.