The diagnosis of Pelvic floor dysfunction is most often missed because most physicians think of the individual presentations of pelvic floor dysfunction separately and patients are referred to the ‘specialist’ for those individual manifestations of pelvic floor dysfunction. As for patients, most equate pelvic floor dysfunction as pelvic floor incontinence and suffer needlessly.
For many years physicians told patients, who are primarily women at the time that incontinence was a part of pregnancy and childbirth and most women believed that was just a part of being a woman. That certainly served many people wrong as instead of looking into their issues, they submitted to their symptoms. Meanwhile, old age, smoking habits, and excess weight have become additional reasons why someone suffered from pelvic floor issues. Once again, pelvic floor dysfunction was not looked at as a collection of certain factors present but rather individual symptoms that were not related to each other!
What is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
If pelvic floor dysfunction was the name of a book, incontinence is only a chapter of this book. Testicular pain, tailbone pain or pain in the coccyx, sexual dysfunction such as erectile dysfunction or painful intercourse, chronic lower back pain, hip pain, sacroiliac pain, and poor posture are other chapters of this book. While now those with testicular pain, tailbone pain, sexual dysfunction, and painful intercourse are referred to a pelvic floor therapist, the rest of the symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction are still being missed and referred out as a stand-alone problem. To clarify, a pelvic floor therapist can range from a physical therapist, occupational therapist, chiropractor, nurse, and physician trained in the field of pelvic floor.
I have written a whole blog on this subject that explains pelvic floor dysfunction in detail.
Who Diagnoses Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
Any physical rehabilitation practitioner that specializes in functional movement qualifies to make such a diagnosis HOWEVER most practitioners that hold the license are too busy looking at specific body parts involved vs putting a wide-angle lens on to see the whole picture.
My suggestion is to ask around, read reviews and call the offices and ask them why you should consider coming to that clinic. If they don’t take the time to explain, they won’t be spending the right amount of time to analyze your condition nor enough time getting to the root cause or the feeders of the root of your problem.
I wished I could give you a direct answer BUT I would be doing you a disservice as there are plenty of people who make claims they don’t fulfill.
Contact me if you have any questions or wish to be checked for pelvic floor dysfunction.
Dr. Shakib