Pelvic floor and intimate health are things many women don’t think about until something changes.
Maybe you’ve started leaking a little when you cough, laugh or exercise. Perhaps you’re getting up more often at night to use the bathroom. Or intimacy simply doesn’t feel the way it used to. Vaginal dryness, discomfort, changes in sensation or vaginal laxity can appear after childbirth, during perimenopause and menopause, or simply as our bodies change with age.
These concerns are common, but that doesn’t mean women simply have to accept them.
What Exactly Is the Pelvic Floor?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissues that support the bladder, bowel and reproductive organs. Like other muscles and tissues in the body, they can be affected by pregnancy and childbirth, hormonal changes, aging and other factors.
When pelvic floor function or intimate tissue health changes, the effects can show up in ways women don’t always realize are connected, from urinary leakage and pelvic floor weakness to changes in comfort and intimate wellness.
That’s why the first step is understanding what is actually contributing to your symptoms. These concerns are not all the same, and neither are their solutions.
Treatment Has Evolved
Pelvic floor physiotherapy remains an important option and can help women learn how to properly strengthen, relax and coordinate these muscles. Lifestyle changes and targeted exercises may also be recommended depending on the concern.
Today, there are also non-surgical, medication-free technologies that can complement these approaches.
Electrical muscle stimulation can create controlled pelvic floor contractions, helping activate and retrain muscles that may be difficult to engage effectively on your own.
Radiofrequency-based treatments work differently. Controlled energy is delivered to targeted tissue to support circulation and collagen and elastin remodelling. Depending on the technology and individual concern, these treatments may support vaginal and vulvar tissue health, dryness, laxity, comfort and overall intimate wellness.
For many women, one of the surprising things about these newer options is how straightforward treatment can be. They can be performed right in the clinic, generally require little to no downtime, and are designed with patient comfort in mind. Most women can return to their usual day shortly afterward, although specific aftercare depends on the treatment performed.
There Isn’t One Solution for Every Woman
This may be the most important part of the conversation.
Urinary leakage, pelvic floor weakness, vaginal dryness, discomfort, laxity and changes in sensation can have different underlying causes. A treatment that makes sense for one woman may not be appropriate for another.
Women deserve to know that options exist, but they also deserve a proper assessment and an individualized plan. Pelvic floor health and intimate wellness are health concerns, and they shouldn’t be subjects women feel they have to quietly live with or be embarrassed to discuss. Sometimes, simply knowing that there are options is the beginning of a much-needed conversation.
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