Pelvic Surgery Prep & Rehab
Do you have a scheduled surgery such as a prostatectomy, hysterectomy, cyst removal, hernia repair or vaginoplasty? Will you be undergoing radiation therapy? Pelvic physiotherapy can be an integral part of your journey pre and post-operatively.
Before Surgery
Enhancing your knowledge prior to surgery will aid in a smoother recovery. Learning about ways to reduce internal abdominal pressure will help the tissues heal better and prevent post-surgical complications. That’s why prehab education involves constipation management, optimal toilet positioning, how to connect to your core and pelvic floor, transfer training and ways to monitor your incision for infection. Pelvic floor muscle strengthening prior to prostatectomy surgery has also been proven to reduce the risk of incontinence post-operatively.
After Surgery
After pelvic surgery, physiotherapy can help with reducing pain and tissue sensitization, with scar massage and with progressively returning to physical activities in a safe manner.
After prostatectomy surgery, pelvic floor muscle training can help to:
- Improve incontinence
- Erectile dysfunction
After radiation therapy, receive dilator training to reduce the effects of fibrosis, education regarding pacing activities to manage fatigue, exercises to maintain the mobility of the pelvic floor muscles, movement and positioning to help with lymphedema, as well as manual therapy techniques to improve pain and tissue mobility.
After pelvic or abdominal surgery (e.g. cesarean birth, hysterectomy), synchronise your core to prevent unwanted pelvic symptoms later on in life.
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, Espanola, Elliot Lake and Blind River, Kelly is passionate about filling this gap in the healthcare system. Kelly provides clinical services on Manitoulin Island and Elliot Lake, as well as mobile services on Manitoulin Island and Espanola. 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
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Northern Pelvic Connection has physical clinic locations on Manitoulin Island and Elliot Lake. Kelly provides mobile/homecare services on Manitoulin Island and Espanola. 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.
