Maybe your doctor referred you to pelvic floor therapy or perhaps you heard about pelvic therapy from Instragram or Tik Tok and want to take the plunge… You then either make your way to the rabbit hole of Google searching, sift through a list of clinics your doctor’s office provided you with, or maybe text a friend to see where they went back when they were dealing with a pelvic floor issue.  

It can be very confusing when you are trying to identify what to look for in a pelvic floor therapy clinic to ensure you wind up in the right place. Read on to learn what to look for in a pelvic therapy clinic to ensure you receive the care that you deserve! Find out what makes Bloom Pelvic Therapy different and how we go about getting our clients back to living the life they love.

What Credentials to Look for in a Therapist?

When it comes to finding the right pelvic floor therapist for you, credentials matter!  You will want to make sure that the providers are first and foremost either physical therapists (PT) or occupational therapists (OT). This requires extensive years of graduate school and clinical training. Beyond a degree in PT or OT, the pelvic floor therapists should have training specifically in the pelvic floor. This may come from an institution such as Herman & Wallace. There are many other organizations that also provide training in different facets of pelvic floor therapy. 

It is important to find a pelvic floor therapist that is up to date on current evidence-based practice to ensure you receive the highest quality of care possible. If your pelvic floor therapist is continuously going to courses, trainings, etc., this is a great thing! This signifies that they are continuously sharpening their skills to provide you cutting edge treatment. 

At Bloom Pelvic Therapy, all our pelvic floor therapists have their Doctorate degree in either occupational therapy or physical therapy with extensive training in pelvic floor therapy, specifically. As a team, we specialize in the pelvic floor and the pelvic floor only. Pelvic therapy is not an add-on service here, it is our specialty! 

Can I See the Same Therapist Each Visit?

When you are dealing with concerns as delicate as those concerning the pelvic floor, it can be helpful to have predictability in your treatment. This includes becoming familiar with the pelvic floor therapist that leads your case and being assured that you will typically be with the same exact pelvic therapist each visit. This allows you to progress and achieve your goals without having to start from square one each visit!

Due to the many complexities of the pelvic floor, it is helpful for you to have the expertise of the whole team at your fingertips. Our therapists collaborate to provide you the most effective treatment outcomes. Our team at Bloom Pelvic Therapy meets routinely to discuss cases and further refine our skillset to ensure every single one of our pelvic floor therapists can offer each client superior care. There may even be opportunities to crossover to see a different pelvic floor therapist on our team for a session or two to add their perspective to furthering your care. This is always an option if this is something your pelvic therapist feels would be helpful for you and is always completely up to you. 

Will There Be Privacy?

Because of the sensitivity of your concerns, it is essential that you feel comfortable at a pelvic therapy clinic. All our visits occur within beautiful, calm, and private rooms. You will not find a large gym or busy waiting rooms filled with people with general orthopedic injuries waiting for their PT. 

We are not your average pelvic floor physical & occupational therapy clinic! Our peaceful pelvic floor therapy clinics located in Lutz & Tampa, FL are designed exclusively for pelvic concerns. Our clients are all walking a similar journey and are here for pelvic therapy concerns only. Likewise, all our clinicians are pelvic floor therapists and hold the privacy of our clients to the highest standard. From the calm, empowering music to the warm greeting you will receive as you walk through the door, each detail is curated for pelvic care specifically at Bloom Pelvic Therapy. 

How Long Are Pelvic Floor Therapy Appointments? 

When looking for a pelvic floor therapy practice, you will want to make sure that you have plenty of time at each visit to address your concerns comprehensively. Evaluations and follow up visits should be no less than about one hour. Your pelvic floor therapist should be dedicated to you and your care only for that full visit. This means they should not be splitting their attention between you and other clients during this time. You should be receiving undivided attention and one-on-one care at each appointment. If you have had an injury to another area of your body or maybe a family member has, you may have experienced rehabilitation settings where the therapist is treating several patients at once. This should not be the case with pelvic floor therapy! 

At Bloom Pelvic Therapy, you are the priority. Your time is valuable. We provide you with the highest level of care and maximize each moment of your visits with individualized attention. Your time is not split with other clients, and you will not be shuffled off to someone else as any point in your visits with us. 

Do I Need to Do Kegels? 

Probably not. Most people are surprised to find out that many people with pelvic floor dysfunction have an issue with overactivity or hypertonicity of their pelvic floor. Muscles can be tight and weak at the same time! Someone can have an issue with pelvic floor muscle overactivity as well as urinary leakage at the same time with the increased muscle tension being a contributor to the pelvic floor muscles’ limited ability to function properly to support maintenance of continence. Put simply, most people do not need to be doing kegels at all, let alone in isolation or when stimulated by a device like an Emsella chair. 

On occasion, it may be helpful to assess if you are able to connect with the pelvic floor muscles by trying out contracting them and then seeing if you can let go of or relax those same muscles. Connecting with this area in the beginning phase of treatment may be helpful when you are newly postpartum and are having a hard time connecting with your core or feeling a ton of extra vaginal or rectal pressure with exercise. However, this should not be the entirety of your treatment plan and should be progressed to full-body movement and coordination beyond simply kegels quite quickly. 

At our clinics, we do much more than kegels! We do not believe in kegel-focused care since often this makes symptoms much worse. Instead, we focus on the real cause of your difficulties right away. 

Can I Follow the Exercises My Friend Has From Pelvic Therapy? 

The truth is that everyone is different and requires a plan curated to them to meet their goals specifically.  If you are following an online program or maybe some exercises or strategies your friend was given by a pelvic floor therapist, you may see some improvement, but it may not be long-lasting or provide total symptom resolution. For example, if you are experiencing urinary leakage and so is your friend, they may be due to different root causes. Because of your unique circumstances and potentially different origin of the issue, the treatment plan may look different for you and so will any exercise progressions or manual therapies.

When you are receiving individualized care, you should not be offered any predetermined packages for your plan, need to buy visits all up front, or receive a one-size-fits-all plan. At Bloom, each client’s plan is custom to their concerns; no two treatments are alike! We provide custom treatment to resolve your concerns effectively! Due to the individualized nature of our care, it is nearly impossible to anticipate a package or set number of visits that you will need to meet your goals. Each plan depends on your unique needs and how you respond to therapeutic interventions to get rid of your symptoms for good!

How Do I Find Someone That Will Finally Listen? 

We commonly hear that our clients were not taken seriously when first disclosing their concerns to a medical professional, usually having this same negative experience repeatedly (often 7-8 times!) until finding our pelvic therapy team. We see you, we hear you, and we can help you address your pelvic floor concerns. No concerns are too small, something we have not heard about, or too complex. Our team is here to help you navigate through pelvic floor dysfunction, reaching the relief you deserve. We are pelvic specialists and can address concerns and help you reach your goals with the care that you deserve.