What is Women's & Men's Health Physiotherapy?
Posted on 26th November 2022 at 15:02
Many people ask, What is Women's & Men's Health Physio? In a nutshell it is the treatment of issues arising from the pelvis and pelvic floor muscles. This may be pain, incontinence, bladder urgency and prolapse among other things. No one should suffer in silence and the biggest step for many men and women is having the confidence to speak to someone and to seek help. Katrina Wade is our Women's & Men's Health Specialist and has been working in this field for 30 years. We are trying to encourage people to speak out about their problems, whether this is to a health professional or friends and relatives.
Here at Bodyworks we see Men, Women and Children with bladder and bowel issues, and Women with pelvic pain. Katrina is an experienced Specialist Physiotherapist in this field as well as maintaining her in depth musculoskeletal skills.
What age groups do you tend to see?
The two main groups for women tend to be either following child birth or peri/post menopause
We also see some children with bladder issues and constipation
With regards to men, all ages with bladder urgency and pre and post prostate surgery
What conditions?
The bladder issues that we see are incontinence, urgency, frequency and nocturia (getting up in the night)
The bowel issues are incontinence, urgency and constipation
We see women with prolapse issues. This can affect the womb, the bladder and the bowel
We also see women with pelvic pain
We also offer a Post-Natal MOT for women post delivery, from 6 weeks onwards
Post surgery, and pre surgery, this may be hysterectomy, prolapse repair in women, or prostate surgery in men
Do you need insurance?
No, we can see patients who are referred by their GP, a Consultant, or those who refer themselves.
Do you need a doctors referral?
You may need a doctors referral if you are coming via your health insurance you will need to check with your insurance company. Katrina works very closely with all of the local gynaecologists, urologists and bowel surgeons. Otherwise you can simply refer yourself.
Many prospective patients want to know what we are going to do and how Katrina may be able to help. Your biggest achievement is to take that very first step to reach out for help and to talk to someone. Our reception staff are very sensitive to your problems and very professional when they speak to you and take your details for an appointment.
Your initial appointment will be for one hour, follow ups are 30 minutes unless Katrina feels that you may need longer. Katrina will spend time taking an in depth history of your problems, a full medical history and specific details regarding your problems. She will explain in great depth what the appointment will entail and take you through everything step by step. With your consent the appointment will also include a physical examination which is done making sure that we maintain your privacy and dignity at all times. If there is time in the initial appointment a real-time ultrasound scan (RTUS) may be carried out to assess the pelvic floor muscles.
From the assessment Katrina will be able to give you a diagnosis, explain in great depth what the problems are, what can be done to help, and what the treatment and prognosis will be.
Treatment may include directed pelvic floor muscle exercises, core strengthening, bladder and bowel advice, bladder training if needed, amongst other things. She may need to carry out manual therapy in association with your pelvic floor muscles or pelvis. Katrina uses RTUS with all of her patients both male and female as she finds that it gives great visual feedback both for her but especially for you as a patient.
Katrina will liaise with your GP or Consultant if they referred you but also with any other parties that you feel are relevant for example personal trainers or other therapists.
Please do not suffer in silence, speak to us now!
Excellent help and advice following my prostate operation, really helped in my recovery and normal functionality.
I would highly recommend them, first class
Being over 60 and feeling fit and well I was concerned when I noticed that I needed to urinate more frequently and even more alarming,down below I had a feeling of something coming down and discomfort. I promptly went to see my GP who examined me, lying down of course and said there was nothing wrong. Of which I was not happy with her diagnosis. So I visited Katrinas Well Woman Clinic. She was very thorough asking questions and most importantly gave me an Ultrasound Scan. My pelvic muscle was clearly shown and Katrina advised me that I could possibly have a prolapse and to pursue it with my GP.
This I did and insisted I was referred to a Gynaecologist who confirmed a prolapse of the bladder and womb and I was admitted for an Hysterectomy and repair. The Consultant commented that by coming early with the problem made the operation and recovery very good. If it had not been for Katrina my prolapse would have escalated and possibly ended up as an emergency.
Every woman no matter what age, should have periodic Well Woman checks as a matter of course and not wait for a problem to arise to do this
Katrina recently did two relatively life changing things for me. Firstly she gave me an acupuncture treatment. Secondly she gave me a series of exercises and some dietary advice. Both treatments were to designed to address my increasingly severe bladder problem
The results were immediate and dramatic. Straight away and for the FIRST TIME IN ABOUT 5 YEARS I didn't need to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. The following day, and ever since, I have been heading off to the loo about half as often as I did before I met her.
My only regret is that I didn't see her before. I simply didn't realise that incontinence could be dealt with so effectively and so easily. For some reason I imagined it was my lot as I grew older to put up with a weak bladder. Not so. I therefore strongly advise you to seek her counsel if you suffer from the same problem as I did.
I cannot speak highly enough of the treatment I received from Katrina Wade both before and after my gynae op. She gave me very helpful advice to help deal with the bladder problems I was experiencing and after my op was always at the other end of the phone when I was anxious about my symptoms. Ladies if you have problems Katrina is frank, courteous and extremely knowledgeable. I just thank her very much for all the help she gave me. She really went the extra mile.
After being diagnosed with Pelvic Floor Spasm and spending time researching this very painful complaint and after having seen a NHS physio twice, to no relief or understanding of PFS I found Katrina. She understood the problem and along with trigger point release of my pelvic floor and good advice I am no longer in need of physio or pain relief medication.
I travelled an hour each way to visit Bodyworks and wouldn't hesitate to go again if the need arises.
It was such a relief to find someone who was aware of and knew how to treat this complaint. Thank you Katrina
I attended Katrina's Post Natal MOT after quite a traumatic birth. I was not shown any pelvic floor exercises at the Hospital and just left to go on my merry way. I was worried after birth and had been having problems with my bladder. I saw this post of Facebook and thought it was too good to be true. After phoning the clinic and learning it was £63 for the appointment I booked in.
The hour was spent checking my pelvis, abdominal muscles and pelvic floor. Katrina really out my mind at rest and assured me everything was as it should be (just very weak). She showed me how to exercise my pelvic floor properly and I could see it working on the ultrasound scan! All in all it was very reassuring and extremely helpful! I will recommend this to all ladies that have just given birth.
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