A good deal of what women are told to expect from the menopause is treatable. Bladder urgency, leaking when you cough, sneeze or run, a heaviness or dragging sensation, and a pelvic floor that no longer feels as reliable as it did are all common with the change in hormonal levels, and all of them respond to pelvic floor physiotherapy.
This is often the second time these symptoms have appeared. Many women had them after childbirth, managed them, and find them returning twenty or thirty years later. That is not a failure on your part, and starting again from a better assessment usually works.
More information
Can pelvic floor exercises still work after the menopause
Yes. Muscle responds to training at every age. NICE recommends supervised pelvic floor muscle training over at least three months as the first treatment for stress urinary incontinence, and that recommendation is not restricted by age. Supervised is the part that makes the difference, because the most common reason women conclude the exercises do not work is that they were never taught how to do them correctly.
What about prolapse symptoms
A feeling of heaviness, dragging or something coming down is worth assessing rather than enduring. Pelvic floor muscle training is a recognised first line treatment for prolapse symptoms, and it often improves them considerably. We will be honest about when symptoms are more likely to need a gynaecology opinion as well.
Is this related to HRT
They work on different things and they work perfectly well alongside each other. Hormone treatment is a conversation for your GP. Physiotherapy addresses how the muscles function, which hormone treatment on its own does not.
Will I have to talk about this in detail
Only as much as is useful, and the appointment is private and unhurried. These are ordinary clinical problems that we discuss every week, and nothing you describe will be a surprise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do pelvic floor exercises still work after the menopause?
Can physiotherapy help prolapse symptoms?
Why have my symptoms come back decades after childbirth?
Does this replace HRT?
Available Team Members
These team members perform this service
