Pelvic floor therapy in Polk County, FL
Pelvic floor therapy is one-on-one physical therapy for bladder leaks, urgency, pelvic pain and recovery after childbirth. We offer it at all three Core Rehabilitation clinics, in Lake Wales, Haines City and Winter Haven, and you can start without a referral.
Reviewed by Joe Koloc, PT, MSPT, MBA, founder of Core Rehabilitation. Last reviewed: date set at sign-off
At a glance
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Helps with: Bladder leaks and urgency, pelvic and tailbone pain, pregnancy and postpartum changes
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Referral: Not needed to start in Florida
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Where: All 3 clinics: Lake Wales, Haines City and Winter Haven
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Your visits: One-on-one with a licensed physical therapist, in a private room
Overview
What is pelvic floor therapy?
Pelvic floor therapy is physical therapy for the muscles at the base of your pelvis. A licensed physical therapist checks how those muscles tighten, relax and work with your breathing and core, then builds a plan of exercises and daily habits to help with leaking, urgency, pelvic pain and recovery after childbirth or surgery.
Your pelvic floor is a sling of muscles that runs from your pubic bone to your tailbone. It supports your bladder and bowel, helps you hold on until you reach a bathroom, and works with your deep stomach muscles every time you cough, lift or laugh. Pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, heavy lifting, long-term constipation and getting older can all change how well it does that job.
Pelvic floor physical therapy is more than Kegels. Some people need to strengthen these muscles. Others are holding them too tight and need to learn to let go, which is common with pelvic pain. Your therapist works out which applies to you before giving you a single exercise.
Is it for you?
Signs a pelvic floor evaluation could help
These are common, especially after pregnancy and as we get older. Common doesn't mean you have to live with them.
Leaking when you cough, sneeze, laugh, jump or lift
A sudden, strong urge to go that's hard to hold
Going to the bathroom much more often than you used to, including at night
A feeling of heaviness, pressure or bulging in the pelvis or vagina
Pain in the pelvis, hips, tailbone or low back that hasn't settled
Pain during or after sex, or when using tampons
Trouble emptying your bladder or bowel, or ongoing constipation
Leaking or weakness that started during pregnancy or after giving birth
See a doctor first if you have: blood in your urine, a fever with pelvic pain, or a sudden loss of bladder or bowel control with numbness around the groin. Call your doctor or seek emergency care for these.
What it treats
Conditions pelvic floor therapy commonly helps
Your therapist treats the cause behind the symptom, so a plan for leaking looks different from a plan for pain.
Bladder and bowel control
Stress incontinence (leaking with effort), urge incontinence (leaking on the way to the bathroom), mixed incontinence, frequent urination and some bowel control problems.
Stress incontinence
Urge incontinence
Constipation
Overactive bladder
Bowel leakage
Pelvic and tailbone pain
Pain in the pelvis, pubic bone or tailbone, pain when sitting, and pain during sex. These often involve muscles that are too tense rather than too weak.
Pelvic pain
Tailbone (coccyx) pain
Painful intercourse
Pelvic girdle pain
Pregnancy and after birth
Back and pelvic pain during pregnancy, leaking after delivery, separation of the stomach muscles (diastasis recti) and a guided return to exercise.
Postpartum recovery
Diastasis recti
Pregnancy-related pelvic pain
Return to exercise
Before and after pelvic surgery
Preparing for and recovering from procedures such as a hysterectomy or prolapse repair, following your surgeon's instructions.
Hysterectomy
Prolapse repair
Pelvic organ prolapse
Your care
What's included in pelvic floor therapy
Every plan is built from your evaluation, and most include a mix of the following.
A full evaluation. Your history, posture, breathing, hip and back movement, and how your pelvic floor tightens and relaxes.
Pelvic floor muscle training. Strength, endurance and, just as important, relaxation, practiced until it becomes automatic.
Bladder and bowel retraining. Practical habits for urgency, frequency and constipation, including timing, fluids and toilet posture.
Breathing and core coordination. Getting your diaphragm, deep stomach muscles and pelvic floor to work together when you lift, cough or exercise.
Hands-on techniques. Gentle manual therapy for tight muscles and tissue around the hips, abdomen and pelvis, always explained before it starts.
A home program you'll actually do. A short daily routine, adjusted at each visit as you progress.
Do I need a referral for pelvic floor therapy?
No. In Florida you can start physical therapy, including pelvic floor therapy, without a physician's referral. Florida Statute §486.021 allows a physical therapist to treat you for up to 30 days without one.
What happens at your first pelvic floor visit?
Your first visit starts with a private conversation about your symptoms, health history and goals. A first visit usually takes about 45 to 60 minutes.
Some insurance plans set their own referral rules, so our front desk checks your plan before your first visit and tells you if anything else is needed.
Talk it through. What's happening, when it started and what you want to get back to.
Movement and muscle check. Posture, breathing, hips, back and how your pelvic floor is working.
Your findings, explained. What's likely driving your symptoms, in plain language.
Your plan. How often to come in, plus one or two things to start at home.
Privacy and consent at every visit
Your therapist explains each part of the assessment before starting and asks for your consent first. You can pause or skip anything, at any visit, and you never have to explain why.
Insurance
Does insurance cover pelvic floor therapy?
Pelvic floor therapy is billed as physical therapy, so it's often covered when your plan includes physical therapy benefits. Core Rehabilitation accepts more than 200 insurance plans, including Medicare, and we verify your benefits before your first visit.
Where to find it
Pelvic floor therapy at all three of our clinics
Looking for pelvic floor therapy near you? It's part of the full service menu at every Core Rehabilitation clinic in Polk County, with the same approach at each one.
Lake Wales
Pelvic floor therapy in Lake Wales
2031 State Rd 60 East, Lake Wales, FL 33898
Mon–Fri 8:00–12:00 & 1:00–5:00
Haines City
Pelvic floor therapy in Haines City
50 Maxcy Plaza Circle, Haines City, FL 33844
Mon–Fri 8:00–12:00 & 1:00–5:00
Winter Haven
Pelvic floor therapy in Winter Haven
3017 Cypress Gardens Rd, Winter Haven, FL 33884
Mon–Fri 9:00–12:00 & 1:00–5:00
Why it works
Why pelvic floor therapy is a sensible first step
For bladder leaking, supervised pelvic floor muscle training is a recommended first treatment, and it's low risk.
The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends at least three months of supervised pelvic floor muscle training as a first treatment for women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence, including during pregnancy. The American College of Physicians also recommends pelvic floor muscle training for women with stress urinary incontinence. A Cochrane review of randomized trials found that women who did pelvic floor muscle training were more likely to report that their leaking was cured or improved than women who had no treatment.
Results differ from person to person, and progress usually takes weeks of regular practice. Your therapist will tell you what's realistic for you after your evaluation, and will send you back to your doctor if something needs medical attention.
Sources: NICE guideline NG210, Pelvic floor dysfunction (2021); NICE guideline NG123, Urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in women (2019); Qaseem A, et al. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2014 (American College of Physicians guideline); Dumoulin C, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018.
Keep exploring
Related care and next steps
Vestibular & balance therapy
Dizziness, vertigo and fall risk, at all three clinics.
Conditions we treat
Back, neck, and shoulder pain, dizziness, and more.
Start without a referral
Florida direct access, insurance and your first visit
Find your clininc
Lakes Wales, Haines City, and Winter Haven.
Frequently asked questions
Book your visit
Start with a private evaluation
Tell us which clinic suits you and when you're free. We'll call to set up your first visit and check your insurance.
Lake Wales · 863-678-0705
Haines City · 863-421-2000
Winter Haven · 863-268-6523