By Matthew Keck —

The University of Louisville Health Frazier Rehab Institute is bringing their women’s health services to two more of their locations: the U of L Health – Mary and Elizabeth and downtown campuses.

David McArthur, U of L Health media relations, said this expansion has been planned over the last six months. He said U of L Health wanted to serve the needs of the entire Louisville area, and these two locations allow them to do so.

U of L Health – Medical Center East is where they developed the Women’s Health and Pelvic Floor Therapy program. This program was developed to help women living with urinary problems, pelvic pain and pregnancy pain or weaknesses, to name a few.

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medicine Association, up to one in five women in America are affected by pelvic floor disorders. ” More than 25 million Americans have urinary incontinence, and the experience can leave them feeling ashamed, socially isolated, and depressed,” states the U of L Health Frazier Rehab website. “Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of physical therapy in treating the symptoms of urinary incontinence.”

This program treats women through different stages of life with common diagnoses like:

  • Urinary Incontinence or Urinary Urgency.
  • Dyspareunia/Painful intercourse.
  • Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain/painful urination.
  • Pelvic pain.
  • Vaginismus/pelvic muscle tightness.
  • Vulvodynia/vaginal burning.
  • Pelvic floor myalgia (muscle pain)/muscle spasm.
  • Levator ani syndrome.
  • Pregnancy- and post-pregnancy related issues.
  • Post-surgical pelvic pain.

With this program, they provide treatments to address muscle weakness or imbalance which may be causing these issues. According to their website, “Pelvic floor muscle training, in conjunction with bladder retraining, has been shown to reduce or resolve symptoms of urinary incontinence in women.”

The program features multiple treatments and therapies including:

  • Assessment to determine the type of incontinence (stress, urge, or both), the extent of incontinence, and assessment of the strength, motor control and endurance of pelvic floor muscles.
  • Assessment of musculoskeletal issues with particular emphasis on pelvic and back pain.
  • Comprehensive treatment plan in collaboration with the patient’s physician.
  • Therapeutic exercise to enhance pelvic floor and abdominal muscle function, and incorporation of these exercises into daily activities.
  • Surface EMG (electromyography) to measure muscle activity and to provide patients with feedback on the muscle control as it develops.
  • Electrical stimulation to facilitate muscle contraction or to reduce pain.
  • Recommendations on lifestyle changes that will help make the bladder less irritable, including avoiding common bladder irritants, retraining the bladder, keeping a bladder diary and lifting, moving, and exercising correctly.

The goal of this program is to reduce or resolve these issues with muscle treatment or therapy.