Bowel Dysfunction

Bowel problems like constipation, bowel urgency, and bowel leakage, can often feel embarrassing and cause significant stress in a person’s life.

We aim to partner with our patients to help identify the root of the problem and build a treatment approach to get long-term results.

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How It All Connects

The pelvic floor muscles provide a crucial role in bowel function. They provide support to the rectum within the pelvis, contract to hold back stool, and lengthen to allow stool emptying.

Why Bowel Dysfunction Happens

When people are experiencing problems with pelvic floor weakness or under-activity, tension or overactivity, or altered muscle coordination, problems with bowel function can occur.

SPH Helps With Bladder Dysfunction

Some of the common bowel problems we treat include:

Constipation

Dyssynergic defecation

Fecal incontinence or leakage

Fecal smearing

Fecal urgency

Rectocele

Rectal prolapse

Anismus

Pain with defecation

Abdominal and pelvic pain

And much more!

Our Expert Physical Therapists Are Here to Help

At SPH, we always aim to treat the whole person. We start with a comprehensive examination to determine what is happening around the body and within the pelvis that may be contributing to the problems you are experiencing. We also evaluate very specifically at the pelvic floor muscles and the structures around them to help you determine the best course of treatment for you.

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Treatment Typically Includes

Specific exercises aiming to improve strength and optimize coordination for the pelvic floor muscles and the structures around the pelvis.
Specific exercises to retrain the coordinated and automatic function of your pelvic floor muscles and retrain your deep core function.
Manual therapies if needed, including myofascial release, visceral mobilization, and/or dry needling to help improve muscle length and sensitivity around the pelvis.
Education to build strategies to optimize your bowel health and habits, including education regarding bowel health and habits, toilet positioning, defecation strategies and more.
Postural retraining and specific strategies to improve your body mechanics and movement.
Much more ~ customized to you and what we identify together in your first visit and examination.

We also have the capacity to utilize tools and modalities like surface-EMG biofeedback, intrarectal balloon training, or electrical stimulation if needed for your program.