Pelvic Pain
Are you experiencing pelvic girdle pain, low back or hip pain, painful sex, pain with bowel movements or urination, pain with pap smears, menstrual pain, lower abdominal pain, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, PCOS, bladder pain syndrome or chronic prostatitis/pelvic pain syndrome? Northern Pelvic Connection provides evidence-based, trauma-informed, confidential and non-judgemental care to help you feel heard, validated and to give you hope.
Pelvic Physiotherapists are Experts in Chronic Pain
Pelvic physiotherapy can help with pain anywhere in the lumbo-pelvis and this pain is often chronic in nature (lasting for 3 months or more). Assessment and treatment involve a biopsychosocial approach – this is a fancy term for addressing not only the tissues, but also thoughts, feelings and beliefs that may be associated with pain.
Here at Northern Pelvic Connection, we will take the time to understand your pain and your history with a trauma-sensitive approach. Treatment commonly involves relaxation of the pelvic floor and associated tissues by calming hypersensitive nervous systems, breathing and lumbopelvic exercises, novel movement programs, manual therapy techniques, use of devices such as dilators or pelvic wands, lifestyle counselling to address systemic inflammation, persistent pain education and cognitive retraining. Pelvic physiotherapists often help patients to build a team of healthcare providers for multi-disciplinary care.
Feel empowered by learning about what is happening in your body and how to manage flares. There is hope to improve your pain!
Why Choose Us
Northern Pelvic Connection provides pelvic health and whole body physiotherapy for underserved areas of northern Ontario. As the only pelvic health physiotherapist in the areas of Manitoulin Island, Kelly is passionate about filling this gap in the healthcare system. Kelly provides clinical services on Manitoulin Island. Virtual care is offered province-wide.
Northern Pelvic Connection strives to make pelvic health and whole body physiotherapy accessible to all persons in remote areas of northern Ontario by providing care through virtual appointments. No need to miss a day of work to travel to an appointment, worry about winter travel or finding childcare, stress about leaving your home after having a baby, question safety leaving the house if you have mobility issues, wear a mask, reschedule an appointment during cold and flu season or fear white-coat syndrome. Virtual care is also a great option for areas of northern Ontario where the next Physiotherapist is several kilometers away or there are long waitlists for care in your community.
Northern Pelvic Connection is here to provide evidence-based, accessible, confidential and compassionate one-to-one care and looks beyond the pelvis to treat you holistically. Kelly takes the time to understand your fears, frustrations, hopelessness, loneliness and overwhelm. There’s no such thing as TMI or “too much information”!
- As many as 3.3 million Canadians experience urinary incontinence.
- Approximately 50% of all child-bearing women have some form of prolapse.
- Chronic pelvic pain affects 24% of women worldwide.
- Approximately 6-27% of women suffer from chronic pelvic pain.
- The prevalence of pelvic health dysfunction is approximately half of the female athlete population, who are almost 3 times more likely to experience urinary incontinence than non-athlete females.
- 50% of Canadian men ages 40-88 will experience erectile dysfunction.
Virtual Care
Virtual physiotherapy – yes, it’s a thing! It all starts with a conversation about your symptoms and what you’re going through. Be ready to move! We may look at your breathing, mobility, strength and function. Guided self-palpation of involved areas may help with diagnosis if one feels comfortable doing so. Dairies (e.g. bladder, bowel, fibre, fluid) and questionnaires will be administered to get an idea of your thoughts, feelings and beliefs about your symptoms. Treatment involves education, urotherapy (behavioural interventions and lifestyle counseling), exercise, strategies to to unwind the nervous system, self-manual therapy techniques and collaboration with other healthcare professionals in your community.
FAQ
Northern Pelvic Connection is located in Manitowaning on Manitoulin Island (lower level of the Assiginack Family Health Team). Services are also delivered virtually through videoconferencing anywhere in Ontario, Canada.
Services are covered under physiotherapy if you have private health insurance. Double check with your provider to see if you require a doctor’s referral for coverage and the amount of coverage available as not all insurance plans are the same. Northern Pelvic Connection does not directly submit to insurance companies at this time. Receipts can be submitted to your insurance company for reimbursement of funds.
Yes, absolutely! Kelly has been practicing as an orthopedic and pelvic health physiotherapist since 2017.
Get The Help You Need
Say goodbye to planning your day around bathroom visits, frequently changing your underwear, packing extra clothes, excessive laundry, missing out on public outings, smelling like urine, leaking with exercise or coughing or laughing, endless purchasing of pads, worrying about whether your parts work and/or experiencing painful periods, intercourse or poops. Don’t wait to invest in your pelvic health physiotherapy journey today.
