Bowel Incontinence
A pelvic floor therapist is highly skilled in evaluating and treating various musculoskeletal and neurological conditions affecting the body. This profession focuses on assessing any underlying factors, such as strength, neuromuscular control, balance, coordination, skeletal alignment, and endurance, which may be contributing to impaired functional mobility, activity, participation, and quality of life.
Of course, most people only seek physical therapy when they’re suffering from a common injury or condition, such as whiplash, tendinitis, lower back pain, or ligament sprains. Perhaps lesser known is that chronic pelvic pain and dysfunction, especially bowel incontinence issues, can respond positively to physical therapy intervention.
What is chronic constipation?
Constipation is defined as infrequent bowel movements or difficulty passing stools. Chronic constipation lasts for several weeks or longer and is generally characterized by a lack of more than three bowel movements per week.
The following demographics have a greater risk of experiencing chronic constipation:
- Those over the age of 65
- Women and pregnant women
- People who live a sedentary lifestyle or are unable to exercise due to a spinal cord injury or physical disability
At Knox Physical Therapy, our physical therapy staff has a variety of tools and modalities used to successfully treat chronic constipation.
Meet Our Pelvic Floor Therapists
Marie Lavelle
DPT
Kelsey Hornick
DPT
Treating bowel incontinence
Visceral manipulation (hands-on therapy for your organs), specialized core exercise training, and exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, known as pelvic floor rehabilitation, can help people who are living with bowel incontinence.
Mild to moderate cases of common types of incontinence can be greatly improved or even cured by manual, behavioral, or exercise therapy. We can also teach you habits and techniques to control your incontinence. Even periodic incontinence is not something you have to live with – we can help! Request an appointment with Knox Physical Therapy in Knoxville, TN today and get started on reclaiming your life.