Pelvic Floor Therapy for Teenagers: A Guide for Parents

As your teenagers navigate the challenges of adolescence, addressing their overall well-being is crucial. While conversations about health often focus on nutrition, exercise, and mental health, there's an important aspect that sometimes goes unnoticed – pelvic floor health.

Pelvic floor therapy, typically associated with pregnant or older adults, is gaining recognition for its potential benefits for teenagers as well.

“Contrary to common perception, it's not limited to older or pregnant individuals,” said Mackenzie Rush, DPT, physical therapist with Franciscan Health. “Even children with issues like bedwetting or bowel dysfunction can find relief through pelvic health PT.”

Learn why teenagers might benefit from pelvic floor therapy and how it can contribute to their overall health and well-being.

Understanding The Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, ligaments and connective tissues that provide support to the organs in the pelvic region, including the bladder, uterus and rectum. These muscles play a crucial role in controlling bowel and bladder function, supporting the spine and maintaining sexual function.

When these muscles weaken, tense up, or experience other issues, it can result in a range of symptoms including pelvic pain, difficulty controlling bowel or bladder movements, and discomfort during daily activities.

“When something is awry in this area – our body also has some special functions like bowel, bladder and sexual function – mishaps can happen and some issues can occur,” said Rush, “That is what pelvic health PT addresses.”

Pelvic floor therapy often takes six to 12 weeks for most patients.

Pelvic Floor Challenges Faced By Teenagers

Rapid body changes and intense activity can at times contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction in teenagers. Some of these contributors to pelvic floor problems include:

Posture and movement patterns

During adolescence, teenagers often undergo rapid growth spurts, leading to changes in their posture and movement patterns. Poor posture, prolonged sitting, or excessive use of electronic devices can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction.

“Your pelvis is pretty much the anchor of your body,” Rush said. “Your pelvis does a lot of things and the way that you move can really show us, what may be causing your pelvic dysfunction.”

Sporting activities

Active teenagers involved in sports may experience increased stress on their pelvic floor muscles due to high-impact activities. This stress can lead to imbalances or tension in the pelvic region.

“A lot of times our teenage girls, they can come in with urinary leakage,” Rush said, “like especially when they're doing any sort of athletics, like dance, or gymnastics, or running, or pole vaulting, any type of athletic event that causes a lot of changes in our intra-abdominal pressure, which is good and healthy, can demonstrate or show our weakness in our pelvic floor.”

Menstrual health

For teenage girls, the onset of menstruation is a significant physiological change. Issues related to menstrual health, such as irregular periods or menstrual pain, can be linked to pelvic floor dysfunction.

“We also see pelvic pain,” Rush said. “This is surrounding the age of menarche, and girls and teens are starting to use tampons. Those can often cause pain if there is pelvic floor dysfunction. And so, as a physical therapist, our responsibility is to make sure that these muscles are working correctly, that they're relaxed, and that the patient has control over their muscles. Because a lot of times, we just don't even know that we can control these muscles, or that we have any, you know, volition over them.

“It's helpful to educate them, so that they know that they can control and relax their muscles, so that there's no pain. Because pain is not normal in this area. And so, that's really helpful, and can give a lot of freedom to teenagers so that they can participate in whatever they want to participate in, whether they're on their period or not.”

Benefits Of Pelvic Floor Therapy For Teenagers

Incorporating pelvic floor therapy into your teenager's overall health and wellness routine can contribute to their physical and emotional well-being. By addressing potential issues early on, teenagers can develop lifelong habits that support a healthy pelvic floor.

Pelvic floor therapy can help teenagers in several ways:

Prevention and awareness

Pelvic floor therapy can educate teenagers about the importance of maintaining a healthy pelvic floor. Learning proper movement patterns and posture can prevent incontinence and other issues from arising in the first place.

Muscle imbalance correction

Pelvic floor therapy sessions can address any imbalances or tension in the pelvic floor muscles, promoting better alignment and function. This is particularly important for teenagers involved in sports or those experiencing discomfort.

Menstrual health support

Pelvic floor therapy can offer relief for teenage girls experiencing menstrual discomfort by addressing muscular tension and promoting better blood flow in the pelvic region.

Bladder and bowel function

Teenagers dealing with issues like bedwetting or constipation may find relief through pelvic floor therapy. Therapists can provide strategies to improve bladder and bowel function.

Consider discussing the benefits of pelvic floor therapy with your teenager's healthcare provider to determine if it could be a valuable addition to their healthcare plan. Remember, open communication is key, and addressing these aspects of health early can set the foundation for a healthier future for your teenager.

What Pelvic Floor Therapy Is Like

When attending their first pelvic floor therapy appointment, patients get to know their physical therapist just like they would a physician. While meeting privately, they’ll gather as much information as possible and formulate a treatment plan. Topics for discussion can include medical history, current health, sleep patterns, exercise habits, nutrition, hydration and life stressors.

The pelvic health physical therapist will also listen, answer questions and relieve any concerns about the process. Next, measurements will be taken to gather a baseline of function and mobility. Externally, information is collected concerning posture and alignment, joint mobility, muscle strength and flexibility.

Depending on the diagnosis, an internal examination may be necessary to assess the muscles within the pelvic floor for sources of pain, tightness and weakness.

Last, a unique treatment plan comes together outlining goals and how progress is measured. Clients also find out what to expect during therapy appointments and have an opportunity to ask questions. Most importantly, physical therapists are there to listen to patients’ concerns about the process.