Women's Health Physiotherapy
Bray, Co. Wicklow & Online
Our Women’s Health Physiotherapist has several years of experience in assessment and treatment of pelvic girdle and pelvic floor dysfunction. We believe that a holistic approach is key to Your recovery. Your initial visit will include a detailed consultation and a physical assessment. We will gather as much information as we can and based on this, we will form a treatment plan for You, keeping your goals as a priority at all times. We will ensure that you have a good understanding of your condition and answer any questions you may have. You can rest assured that everything you tell the physiotherapist will remain completely confidential.
We treat a number of complaints:
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Urinary Incontinence
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Stress Urinary Incontinence
Loss of bladder control - leaking a few drops or larger volumes of urine- during physical activity. This could be simply laughing, sneezing, coughing, jogging, running, jumping. Any type of exercise like heavy lifting or sexual intercourse could cause you to leak urine being unable to control it.
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Urge Urinary Incontinence
When you need to go, you need to go and there's very little, or no time to allow you to make it to the toilet? You might be suffering from urge incontinence. The main symptom is a sudden and very intense urge to wee followed by loss of urine. You might be going to the toilet more often than normal, including having to get up several times at night.
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Overactive Bladder
Urgency and frequency described above, are both symptoms, and both linked to an overactive bladder condition. You might experience a sudden urge to go to the toilet that is hard to control and you might leak. You might find yourself needing to pass urine very often, also at night.
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Pregnancy & Postnatal
Your body goes through many changes during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Physiotherapy treatments at Physio & Wellness Clinic are designed to meet your needs: prepare, prevent, treat, help your recovery. We help you achieve a body that moves with freedom, in the most functional, optimal, painless, and fearless way.
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Guidelines on safe exercise during and after pregnancy-
Pregnancy and postpartum should be a time of joy. You might be looking to continue with an exercise routine or sports you were involved in before expecting or you might want to gently strengthen, lengthen and realign your body in preparation for labour and challenges of motherhood. Physio & Wellness Clinic offers a range of group classes and individual sessions to suit your needs and goals.
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Treatment and management of Pelvic Girdle Pain including symphysis pubis dysfunction
The main symptom of pelvic girdle issues is pain. You can experience it when walking, putting weight on to one leg ie climbing stairs, getting dressed, getting in and out of the bath, bed, or car. You might notice clicking or grind in the area of your pelvis.
Keep in mind your symptoms could be located anywhere from the lower back to the thighs, either front or back. Inner or outer thighs could be affected also.
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Low back pain
The low back issue can manifest itself in many different ways. From the dull ache to shooting or pinching sensation, pins and needles or numbness, muscle spasms, decreased painful movement symptoms can be present all across your lower back or be present only on one side of your body. Symptoms can also be very localised or spreading to your buttocks or/and leg. Depending on the cause of your problem, the pain might be better with rest or movement, or change as you change from one position to another ie going from sitting to standing. Some of you might experience a higher level of discomfort or pain first thing in the morning and improvement after moving around a bit.
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Rib Pain/Thoracic Pain
As with low back pain, symptoms and the location of it can vary from person to person, and depending on the cause of the problem. Physiotherapy assessment and treatment with posture correction, body alignment, hands-on therapy, and breathwork are some of the ways to resolve rib/thoracic pain.
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Carpal tunnel syndrome
There can be a few different causes of carpal tunnel syndrome like a repetitive strain or it can be pregnancy-related. You may experience pain in your fingers, hands, wrists, and/or arms. Frequently there is a sensation of numbness, tingling or/and pins and needles. You might notice that the strength on the affected side has decreased.
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Postnatal rehabilitation of pelvic floor and abdominals (including Diastasis Rectus Abdominis)
After having your baby, you might experience some unwanted symptoms related to your bladder and bowel control, core strength, and core synergy. Since you became pregnant, you took your body through a period of transition. Now that your baby arrived you need sufficient recovery time. Your body has to adjust to the new activities like feeding, changing, and carrying your baby in your arms.
You might suffer from
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-urinary incontinence
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-fecal incontinence
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-back pain
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-neck pain
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-shoulder pain
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-carpal tunnel syndrome
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-pelvic girdle pain
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-hip pain
A lot of the issues you are experiencing are only temporary and will resolve within 5-8 weeks of delivery of your baby. The key is to know what to expect, what time frame should you allow for your symptoms to ease and resolve, and how to support your body in a safe, effective way.
Physiotherapy sessions during pregnancy or in the first couple of weeks after delivery will give you all the tools and strategies to deal with aches, pains, and strains that you might experience.
At Physio&Wellness Clinic in Bray, we know how difficult it may be to leave your baby to go to your appointment. They need frequent feeds and your presence is very important, so you are always welcome to bring your baby with you.
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Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
The term 'pelvic floor dysfunction' covers a range of symptoms described above, like urinary incontinence, urinary, frequency or urgency, difficulty emptying your bladder or bowels, accidentally passing wind, or descent of pelvic organs. Physiotherapy is usually the first line of treatment that should be considered.
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Prolapse
The organs of your pelvis (one or more) descend from their normal position, causing you unpleasant, often upsetting symptoms - feeling of a bulge in your vagina, heaviness, a sensation of dragging, or something dropping. It can be accompanied by other symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction
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Sexual Dysfunction (Dyspareunia)
When you experience pain related to sexual intercourse - before, during, or after sex. Oftentimes pain is a result of a physical problem ie vaginal dryness. Some may experience symptoms due to emotional factors.
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Chronic Pelvic Pain
If you are suffering from unresolved pain in the region of your pelvis- below your belly button. It can come and go or be constant pain and its intensity may vary.
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Constipation
Everyone can feel constipated from time to time. It is more worrying when it's something you are suffering with on an ongoing basis. Passing your bowels less than 3 times per week, having to strain, passing the stool that looks like small hard lumps/balls, feeling as though there is a blockage or you are not emptying completely.
We have started creating some educational patient videos to give you helpful physiotherapy tips on everything from back pain, pelvic pain, constipation, overactive bladder, and more!
Click on the links below to learn more:
What's in your poop?
How do we control our bowels?
Please note we continue to provide Women's Health Physiotherapy in Bray, in our clinic. You can also book an online consultation.
Treatment for pelvic floor/bladder & bowel conditions may include:
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Exercise program to strengthen or release the pelvic floor muscles and other muscles contributing to
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Your symptoms
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Low Pressure Fitness (Hypopressives)
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Manual therapy/ Myofascial release
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Acupuncture
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Advice about healthy bladder and bowel habits and available support garments
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Suggestions of lifestyle changes to help manage the problem