If you’ve ever had to rush to the bathroom suddenly, or felt a little leak when you laughed, jumped, or sneezed, then you could be experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction. However, knowing what is causing your uncomfortable symptoms is just the first step towards resolving them and reclaiming your confidence in your body.
At Harbour Direct Primary Care, we’re here to help you understand the details of your overall health. That’s why, in this blog, we’ll talk about the main causes of a dysfunctional pelvic floor. That way, you can make the best choices when it comes to finding the best pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport, RI.
The Importance of the Pelvic Floor
When your pelvic floor is working as it should, you hardly notice it. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles spanning from your pubic bone to your tailbone, and it’s responsible for several key bodily processes. It’s typically only after the pelvic floor begins dysfunctioning that patients become aware of what it is and look for solutions.
Sexual Function
The pelvic floor muscles play a vital role in sexual function by supporting the pelvic organs and contributing to sensations during sexual activity. If you’re male, the pelvic floor helps achieve and maintain an erection and supports ejaculation. If you’re female, the pelvic floor helps tighten the vaginal canal for improved sensation and enhanced arousal and orgasm. It also supports a growing fetus during pregnancy, and a strong pelvic floor is essential for a smooth delivery.
Urination/Defecation
One of the biggest indicators that you need pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport, RI, is when you have issues going to the bathroom. This is because the pelvic floor muscles assist the bladder and other muscles in pushing urine through the urethra. The pelvic floor also helps the rectal muscles when it comes to defecation.
Core Strength
Your pelvic floor works to maintain a strong core. This not only keeps you balanced while you are walking or standing, but also influences your posture.
Your Solution: Emsella
At Harbour Direct, our solution for pelvic floor dysfunction is Emsella. Emsella uses high-intensity focused electromagnetic (HIFEM) energy to stimulate thousands of contractions within your pelvic floor muscles, delivering about the equivalent of 11,000 Kegels in 28 minutes. This provides your pelvic floor with an intense workout, which builds up muscle mass and overall strength.
What makes Emsella a popular pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport is that it is completely noninvasive. Unlike other treatments that can include surgery or invasive measures, such as vaginal insertion, Emsella only requires you to sit in a chair. You remain fully dressed and comfortable while your pelvic floor experiences the workout of its life. While the sensation of rapid involuntary contractions can feel odd, it should not feel uncomfortable or painful.
Here are the basics of treatment:
- Appointment Length: 28 minutes
- Downtime: None
- Sessions Needed: 6
- Time Between Sessions: 3-7 days
- Duration of Results: 3-12 months (depends on pre existing medical conditions)
The Causes of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Typically, pelvic floor dysfunction occurs when there is damage done to the muscles, whether physical or neurological. Here are the most common causes of pelvic floor dysfunction we see.
Giving Birth
Many of our patients experience pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence after childbirth. This is because pregnancy and childbirth places a lot of pressure on the pelvic floor muscles, stretching them beyond their normal capacity. This damages the fibers in the muscles, and the body often can’t fully repair them.
Our pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport essentially “unlocks” your body’s healing capabilities, leveraging them to naturally repair the damage that occurred to your pelvic floor during birth.
Traumatic Injuries
Your pelvic floor muscles work with your core muscles to protect your bones, organs, and other muscles from becoming damaged when you jump, sneeze, cough, and more. However, if you experience a traumatic event where the pressure your pelvic floor experiences is beyond your body’s capabilities, then it can damage your pelvic floor.
Some examples of traumatic events that can damage your pelvic floor include falling from a great height, being in a car crash, or getting hit by a car as a pedestrian. Anything that can cause damage to the pelvis can impact your pelvic floor.
Overuse
When you overuse or overstretch any of your muscles, you can damage them—this includes your pelvic floor muscles. You can overuse the muscles in many ways, but the most common ways we see are by being overweight or obese, consistently straining to go to the bathroom, or chronic constipation.
Your pelvic floor muscles help “hold up” your organs and abdominal muscles, but if you have excess fat in your abdomen, that puts an additional strain on your pelvic floor muscles. Over time, this can overstretch them and weaken them. The same damage also occurs if you are constantly straining to go to the bathroom, putting excess pressure on those muscles.
Surgery
Whenever you undergo surgery in or around your pelvic floor, this disrupts the connective tissue and muscle fibers, greatly impacting your strength. Your muscles cannot support one another when the fibers or the connective tissues separate, and therefore cannot fully support the typical functions of your body like urination or defecation.
You can also lose a significant amount of muscle mass and strength as you recover from surgery, which further impacts function. Common surgeries that can cause pelvic floor dysfunction include:
- Cesarean section
- Hysterectomy
- Prostatectomy
- Bladder or colorectal cancer surgery
- Pelvic organ prolapse surgery
- Procedures for rectal prolapse
Thankfully, our pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport can help restore that strength so you can regain control over those natural functions.
Aging
The aging process affects many aspects of our body, including our pelvic floor. Muscle mass often declines as we age, and this affects your pelvic floor muscles just as much as it does the rest of your body.
Over time, our pelvic floor muscles can begin to lose mass and strength, often causing them to become weak and dysfunctional. Hormone changes that occur with age can also heighten the symptoms of a dysfunctional pelvic floor, which is why our team can help you create a well-rounded treatment plan that addresses the root causes of all the issues, not just the symptoms.
Certain Medical Conditions
There are certain medical conditions that can cause weakness in the pelvic floor, like:
- Cancer
- Connective tissue disorders
- Neuromuscular conditions
- And more
With neurological disorders, you experience limited communication between your bladder and your brain, preventing you from feeling the “urge” to go until your bladder is overfull and contracts unexpectedly, causing you to urinate suddenly.
When a patient has a connective tissue disorder, it causes the tissues connecting the pelvic floor muscles to the other muscles they are meant to assist to become weak. Lastly, when a patient is overweight of obese, the excess weight from the core puts consistent pressure on their pelvic floor muscles, stretching them beyond their normal means and causing them to lose strength over time.
When specific medical conditions are the cause, our options for pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport may not be as effective. Instead, you can use them to help manage your symptoms while we help you understand and resolve the underlying medical condition that is causing your main concerns.
Commonly Asked Questions About Emsella
We understand that Emsella can seem too good to be true, and that you might have plenty of questions. Here, we’ll address the most common questions we hear about Emsella. And if you do not see your question here, then we encourage you to reach out to our team, who will be more than happy to provide you with the answers you need about your pelvic floor dysfunction treatment near Newport.
Do I need 6 treatments?
6 sessions is the minimum requirement to fully address your pelvic floor dysfunction. However, some patients may need up to 12 sessions depending on the severity of their concerns. You and your provider will talk during your consultation about your needs and determine how many sessions of Emsella you might need to address them.
Can I pair Emsella with other treatments?
Yes, you can pair Emsella with other pelvic floor therapy treatments, or with our other aesthetic or medical services. Our team can create a well-rounded care plan that helps you feel your absolute best.
Will I need maintenance treatments?
Most patients will need maintenance treatments to keep up their results, however, some patients may not need to get maintenance as often as others. Your provider can talk with you about how often you may need maintenance sessions and create a schedule that works for your individual needs.
See if Emsella is Right For You
We make discovering your best solutions simple. If you think Emsella is right for you, then we encourage you to either book an appointment with one of our expert providers or use our complementary aesthetic treatment planner to begin exploring your best options for treatment based on your unique needs.
