Many patients have walked into our clinic and looked at our display case to be quite surprised. The display case contains many of our favorite rehab products and great tools for success! As you scan the display case, you will inevitably come across some of our favorite pelvic floor rehab products.
As soon as these products are spotted, they tend to bring up the same question:
“What are these used for??” or “Do you sell sex toys?”
To which we usually reply…
“They are not QUITE what you think they are.”
At Breakaway we are committed to helping people rehabilitate injuries of all body parts; but we have a specialty in the pelvic floor muscles. We put a lot of time, attention and training to be ready to help all our patients that feel like their pelvic floor is holding them back from enjoying their life (intimacy, playing with their kids, being independent and getting their errands done and MORE)!
Pelvic floor muscles are those that exist in an around the pelvis. These are the muscles that help to maintain your urinary continence, bowel function, help to support you during and after pregnancy as well as play a role in sexual function. Many people do not have any difficulty with these muscles and many others do.
One of the most important things to know and remember is that you don’t have to live with your pelvic floor muscles not working properly. Help is out there and there are so many resources that we can help you with!
If you have or know someone who has pelvic floor dysfunction it is great to know that:
- 1You are not alone!
- 2Other people have developed products that can be instrumental in your recovery!
One of the most important things that we have our patients do when they are using these products is to focus on diaphragmatic breathing. If you have never tried it, read on so that you know what I’m referring to:
Now let’s explore some of these products:
Vaginal Dilators
Dilators are a great tool for anyone who is suffering from any condition that leads to general pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, pain with the use of speculum, pain with the use of tampons or menstrual cups, or any other conditions that could cause vaginal canal narrowing, atrophy or pain.
These products can be found in a variety of materials (typically in silicone or plastic), styles and structures.
These can be an integral part of a home exercise program to address any of the above conditions.
As you can see from the picture, there are many sizes so that you can start with the proper one for your body and your comfort level. It’s also helpful as you will need to be able to work up to the size dilator that is comparable to your partner in size so that you can improve your intimacy, ability to use tampons and more.
Talk with your pelvic floor physical therapist about the specifics of how long to use and what size to start with.
Pelvic Wands
Wands are excellent at reaching trigger points in the pelvic floor muscles. YES trigger points!
The pelvic floor muscles are just like other muscles in the body and they can develop muscle tension (a tight rope-like feeling) and knots – Think about the muscles in your neck when you are stressed.
Your pelvic floor muscles respond to stress unfortunately in the same way as your neck muscles and tighten up. They also tighten when we are scared, nervous, worried, anxious and more. This happens without us even knowing it and starting to “check-in” with your pelvic floor is a good first step to figuring out what is happening.
A good Pelvic wand will be made out of plastic or silicone and is typically curved, specially designed to reach the pelvic floor muscles. Most can be used vaginally or rectally to help women AND men.
They can help to reduce pain, improve the quality of the tissues and improve blood flow to the muscles. Pelvic wands are able to reach deeper muscles to be able to reduce any tension and improve your overall pelvic health.
Just like the dilators; these can be an important part of your home exercise program and used with diaphragmatic breathing. If you think you would be a good candidate to use a pelvic wand, give us a call at 410-721-6333 to talk further and for us to be able to help guide you on how often to use it.
Vaginal Weights
These can be a game changer for those who have tried exercise on their own and have had limited success or who have not reached their goals after following their prescribed home program.
Weights can be a good means to achieve bladder control, Pelvic floor muscle strengthening, muscle tightening, and even help in postpartum recovery. The can make a big difference when you have already been completing your kegels, guided by your pelvic floor physical therapist and are needing to take your strength to the next level.
Vaginal weights are great when people are having leakage with higher level activities such as running and jumping. One of my best tips is to use these when you are in the shower! You will most likely need to squat down to pick up the shampoo bottle, pick up your leg as you shave your leg and move in all different positions WHILE holding the vaginal weight in. This is a great time to knock out your strengthening exercise, while you were most likely going to take a shower with or without your weights.
Another activity to try while you are using your vaginal weights is to walk up and down the steps all while trying to keep your weights in.
Good brands of vaginal weights will start with low, almost no weight and increase slowly to ensure success at each level prior to moving on.
If you would like more information on our favorite vaginal weight brands, send us an email at getbetter@breakawaypt.com
Traditional Exercise Equipment
In addition to pelvic floor specific items we offer many traditional products to aid in your pelvic floor recovery. These products include:
Anything and everything to challenge your core, back, legs, and MORE!
Extras: Additional products to ask your pelvic floor therapist about
You can explore many of these products and the rest of our offering in our online store!
Getting to the bottom of this list was probably eye opening, maybe even a little overwhelming, but do not worry!
When you work with Breakaway Physical Therapy, you become part of the team, part of the Breakaway Family.
Making an investment in one or more of these products is an investment in your health. Your health is very important to us. And with our team of pelvic floor physical therapists, we completely understand how difficult these issues can be to address and even talk about. That is why we find it important to meet you where you are at in terms of your comfort level. We respect where you are coming from and are more than happy to help in any way when you are ready.
If you think that you could benefit from one of these products, then let us know so that we can help!
We will work with you every step of the way to make sure you are selecting the best products for you and that you are using them correctly. This will ensure that you are reaching your goals and getting back to doing all the things you love that you are missing out on now.
Life is short and do not let anything get in the way of enjoying it! Let us help you make the change that you are looking for TODAY!
Call us for a free consultation today at 41-721-6333. After getting to know you, we will set up a time for an evaluation to create a customized plan (Including products) to get YOU back to YOU!
If you are looking for more information on pelvic floor physical therapy and what that entails, check out our previous blogs at https://www.breakawaypt.com/category/pelvic-floor/
Brittany Gunter
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