Physiotherapists also play an important role in assessing patients pre and post operatively prior to a number of gynaecological surgeries including continence procedures, prolapse surgery and hysterectomy.
Did you know?
- Hysterectomy is the most common female surgery
- Up to 1 in 5 women will have surgery for prolapse or incontinence in their lifetime
- The recovery period required after these surgeries can be up to 3 months and care must be taken to ensure your surgery has the best chance of success.
We know that:
- A pelvic floor that functions well is important in ensuring your pelvic surgery and long term outcomes are optimal, however;
- 1 in 2 women cannot effectively contract their pelvic floor when provided with written or verbal instruction alone.
- 1 in 4 women will use a counter-productive technique, which can weaken the pelvic floor and the surgical sites further.
How we can help:
Your recovery immediately postoperatively and in the weeks following surgery can be made more comfortable and less daunting with some simple strategies taught to you by a Physiotherapist. We know that your long-term outcomes from these surgeries can be affected by many factors such as:
- Straining to empty your bladder or bowel
- Returning to strenuous activities, heavy lifting, and high impact exercise too soon in your recovery
- Poor pelvic floor and abdominal muscle function
Sometimes women experience bladder leakage or painful sex following their operation, and Physiotherapy treatment can help with these problems too.
What to expect:
The goal of Physiotherapy is to optimise your post-operative recovery and enhance your long-term outcomes – we want to make sure your surgery is as effective as possible.
- We know that many women cannot contract their pelvic floor muscles correctly after verbal or written instruction alone, instead benefitting from an individualised assessment with a Physiotherapist trained in pelvic floor examination.
- We aim to improve your bladder and bowel function pre-operatively and also provide tips to prevent problems emptying your bladder and bowel after your surgery.
- We provide advice on moving comfortably early in your recovery period.
- We understand that knowing when to return to different activities can be difficult to decipher by yourself after your surgery.
Your Physiotherapist will guide you through the process, individualising your return to daily activities and general fitness levels based on guidelines and key assessment findings, particularly in regards to your pelvic floor and abdominal muscle function.
Summary
There is strong evidence to support the role of physiotherapists with additional training in women’s and pelvic health to treat a number of conditions across all life stages – from more commonly known pelvic health issues affecting women such as incontinence and prolapse, to pelvic and sexual pain concerns and also for helping children and adolescents with bed wetting or other bladder/bowel control concerns.
We hope the information in this blog has been useful and should always be considered in conjunction with an individual assessment with your physiotherapist and/or other health care provider skilled in the area such as a GP or gynaecologist.
We would love to help you manage your concerns and get you back achieving your goals worry –free!