physio - how long before you notice improvement?

[sailor_moon]

Hi,

Just a few questions about Physio.

First off, how long does it generally take before you notice any form of significant improvement?

When doing physio, is it usually pelvic/internal exercises that get done to improve the pudental nerve or is it mainly focused on your back/leg exercises/ movements ect?

Any info regarding physio would be much appreciated. Thankyou

[stephanies]

In my experience, the PT uses manual techniques to try to loosen tight pelvic muscles. Sometimes the work is done internally and sometimes externally. I don't know how long is reasonable to determine improvement.

[Violet M]

You may get differing opinions from different PT's on how long it takes. One of my friends spoke directly with Dr. Wise who wrote the book a Headache in the Pelvis and he was told you should see improvement in 6-12 sessions if you are going to have improvement. This was a few years back -- I don't know if Dr. Wise would still say the same thing now.

If you have pudendal neuralgia or an overly tense pelvic floor, my understanding is that internal exercises like Kegal's are contraindicated because they can make you worse. What kind of exercises is your PT having you do?
Myofascial release, skin rolling, and trigger point therapy are some of the techniques that are typically used with pelvic pain patients.

Violet

[sailor_moon]

Thankyou for your replies. I appreciate it.

At the moment my PT is focusing on my back rather than my pelvis, as my back appears to be what has caused the pudental nerve problem. She wants to move onto my pelvis later on. At the monent I am doing pilates-style roll-ups, focusing on stretching to my left side as thats where the pain comes from. She also has me doing a specific type of leg raising move whilst on my back, once again focusing on the left side. She has given me a band I hang over a door and put my hands through the loopholes, and pull down whilst laying on my back, keeping my left knee raised.

I aaked Professor Vancailles if kegals were ok, and he said the trick is to follow with relaxation exercises. I am having trouble getting my pelvic floor to relax properly so I am avoiding kegals at this point until I discuss it further with the PT.

At this point I have only been doing the above exercises for about 3 weeks, I had a back injury over xmas and couldn't do anything til after the New Year. I only get to see the PT once every 2-3 weeks, I unfortunately have to travel soI dont get to see her every week.

I do feel as though some internal exercises are needed but she said she wants to try and get my back sorted out first as its a lot easier and quicker to do than my pelvic area. She said she doesnt wants to see which exercises help the mist so we can determine whether my pain is mainly back or pelvic related.

I can feel a difference in my back after doing these exercises, but seeing as I have had no experience with a physio prior to this, I hsve no idea what should be happening.

[Violet M]

If it's not causing a flare-up of the pelvic symptoms but is helping your back then maybe it's the right thing for you. It's really tricky knowing whether to stretch or not. If your problem is primarily muscular then stretching can be very helpful but if you truly have a nerve entrapment as I did, with the nerve compressed between ligaments, stretching can actually make things worse as it did for me. But if the stretches you are doing don't seem to be irritating the pudendal nerve that's promising.

Violet