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Women’s Health

Did you know Pelvic Health Physiotherapists and Exercise Physiologists can support you with a wide range of conditions?

Our Team is here to help with:

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms and they’re affecting your quality of life, know that you’re not alone. Our experienced pelvic health Physiotherapists, in collaboration with our Exercise Physiologists, can help you identify the root cause of your symptoms and support you on the path to restoring pelvic floor function and confidence.

What is your pelvic floor?

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles and ligaments that form a sling-like structure stretching from your pubic bone at the front to your tailbone at the back. These tissues create the base or “floor” of your pelvis. In women, the pelvic floor supports the bladder, uterus, and bowel; in men, it supports the bladder and bowel. It plays a vital role in bladder and bowel control, sexual function, and pelvic stability.

What do the pelvic floor muscles do?

The pelvic floor muscles work to support your internal organs, maintain continence, enable urination and bowel movements, and assist in sexual function and childbirth. When functioning properly, they help prevent conditions like incontinence and prolapse.

However, these muscles can become underactive (too weak) due to factors such as childbirth, surgery, menopause, heavy lifting, or constipation, leading to symptoms like incontinence or prolapse. Alternatively, the pelvic floor may become overactive, meaning the muscles tighten when they should relax. This can cause pain, difficulty with sexual intercourse, or trouble emptying the bladder or bowel.

With the right assessment and treatment, including pelvic floor muscle training, many people can significantly improve their symptoms and sometimes avoid the need for surgery. At Caboolture Physical Therapy Centre, our experienced physiotherapists and exercise physiologists are here to help you assess, treat, and manage your pelvic floor concerns with expert care and support.

Why is a holistic approach to pelvic health necessary?

Hormones affect everything!

  • Pelvic muscle control is different at all stages of maturation, eg different points in a woman’s cycle, different stages of life, eg child, puberty, childbirth, menopause.
  • Is affected by medical conditions, eg inflammation, arthritis, diabetes, cancer
  • Especially important during cancer treatments that block oestrogen, eg prostate, breast cancer
  • Endo can deposit in your little finger or your brain, so no two women should be treated the same
  • Hormones affect ligamentous laxity (as in pregnancy and can be made worse if you are naturally hypermobile as in EDS)

Is pelvic pain affecting your daily life?

Pelvic pain is usually felt in the area below your belly button and between your hips and can come from a variety of sources, including the digestive, reproductive or urinary systems, or even the muscles and ligaments in the pelvic region. Symptoms may include:

  • Dull ache
  • Sharp cramping
  • Pressure or heaviness
  • Bloating
  • Urgency to urinate
  • Constipation
  • Pain during sex
  • Sitting or standing for long periods

If pelvic pain is disrupting your daily life or getting worse, it’s time to seek help. At our Caboolture Physical Therapy Centre, our pelvic health physiotherapists can play a key role in managing pelvic pain. We assess both the pelvic floor and surrounding areas to identify what might be contributing to your symptoms. Treatment may include internal pelvic floor examination, external assessment of your pelvis, legs and abdomen, as well as targeted techniques such as muscle release, breathing exercises, stretching, acupuncture, and strategies to calm pain pathways.

https://www.pelvicpain.org.au/about/for-health-professionals/

Our goal is to ease your pain, improve your bladder, bowel and sexual function, and help you return to doing the things you enjoy and achieve your goals.

What is considered normal for my bladder?

A healthy bladder typically empties 4–6 times during the day (varying on how much you drink day to day), holding about 400–600ml of urine, with the urge to go starting around 250ml.

At night, most people will get up 0–1 time, or 0–2 times if over 65.

A normal bladder gives you plenty of warning to get to the toilet without rushing or leaking, and it fully empties once you go.

As your bladder fills, stretch receptors send signals through the nerves to your spine and brain to let you know it’s time to go. However, factors like nerve changes, muscle weakness, past injuries or trauma, or strain from activities such as heavy lifting or high-impact sports (like umpiring netball) can disrupt this system, leading to incontinence.

In Australia:

  • 1 in 3 women
  • 1 in 10 men
  • 1 in 5 children

experience bladder control issues—yet 70% don’t seek help.

Source: Continence Foundation of Australia

Common types of bladder issues:

  • Stress Incontinence – leakage with coughing, sneezing, or lifting, etc.
  • Urgency Incontinence – strong, sudden need to urinate
  • Urinary Retention – difficulty emptying the bladder
  • Mixed Incontinence – a combination of stress and urgency
  • Nocturia – frequent waking at night to urinate
  • Incontinence related to neurological conditions or disability
  • Childhood Incontinence – including bedwetting and daytime accidents

If you experience one or more of these, our Pelvic Floor Physiotherapists at Caboolture Physical Therapy Centre can assess your symptoms and create a personalised treatment plan to help you regain control and confidence.

How do you know if you have a weak pelvic floor?

When your pelvic floor muscles are underactive or weak, you may notice symptoms such as:

  • Bladder or bowel leakage (incontinence)
  • Prolapse – a sensation of heaviness or bulging due to reduced support for internal organs – this may not always be present
  • Excessive flatulence
  • Sexual dysfunction – including erectile difficulties or reduced vaginal sensation

Common causes of pelvic floor weakness:

  • Constipation or frequent straining on the toilet
  • Repeated heavy lifting or high-impact activities (e.g. running, gymnastics, weight training)
  • Pregnancy and childbirth
  • Chronic coughing
  • Menopause
  • Prostate or gynaecological surgeries
  • Genetic or structural factors

How do you know if you have an overactive pelvic floor?

An overactive pelvic floor means the muscles are too tense and have trouble relaxing. This can cause:

  • Ongoing pelvic pain
  • Pain during or after intercourse
  • Difficulty emptying your bladder or bowels

Common causes of pelvic floor overactivity:

  • Chronic abdominal pain and guarding
  • Endometriosis or adenomyosis
  • Recurrent infections
  • History of physical trauma
  • Overuse or excessive pelvic floor muscle training

Could you have a pelvic organ prolapse?

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the pelvic floor muscles and supporting tissues become weak or stretched, allowing one or more pelvic organs—such as the bladder, uterus, or bowel—to bulge into the vaginal wall. Common signs include a feeling of heaviness, a visible or palpable bulge, difficulty emptying the bladder or bowel, and discomfort during sex in certain positions. It’s most often caused by childbirth, chronic coughing, constipation, or heavy lifting or after lots of straining.

About half of the women who’ve had children experience some degree of prolapse, though only a portion of women with symptoms seek treatment. Strengthening pelvic floor muscles through physiotherapy can help manage or prevent prolapse, especially in its early stages, and surgery is not always necessary.

What is Urinary Urgency and Urge Incontinence?

Urinary urgency is a sudden, intense urge to empty your bladder that can be hard or impossible to delay. In some cases, this is followed by involuntary leakage of urine, known as urge incontinence. You may also feel discomfort or pain around your bladder. If you’re needing to urinate more often than normal, this may be a sign of an overactive bladder.

Urge incontinence can affect anyone, but becomes more common with age. Triggers may include:

  • Caffeine, fizzy drinks, tea, or alcohol
  • Stress or anxiety
  • Neurological conditions (e.g. Parkinson’s, MS)
  • Diabetes or constipation
  • Certain medications
  • Vaginal infections or pelvic organ prolapse
  • Habitual “just in case” toileting
  • Infection – bladder, urethral

Pelvic health physiotherapy can help reduce urgency, improve pelvic floor strength, and break unhelpful bladder habits. Our team supports you with personalised strategies to manage symptoms and regain bladder control.

Is stress incontinence holding you back?

Stress incontinence is the unintentional leakage of urine during everyday movements that put pressure on your bladder, such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting, or exercising. It can be frustrating and unpredictable, often affecting confidence, physical activity, and quality of life.

But you don’t have to just live with it. Physiotherapy can help by strengthening the pelvic floor muscles that support your bladder and urethra. Our pelvic health physiotherapists are trained to assess and guide you in identifying and correctly engaging these muscles, something that many people find difficult to do on their own.

With a personalised program, we’ll help you improve bladder control, reduce leaks, and regain confidence in your daily activities. If stress incontinence is affecting your life, we’re here to support your recovery.

Do you know what’s normal for your bowels?

It’s normal to have a bowel movement anywhere from three times a day to three times a week, as long as it’s easy to pass, feels complete, and doesn’t involve straining. A healthy stool is typically well-formed, sausage-shaped, and may have small cracks on the surface (Type 3–4 on the Bristol Stool Chart).

If you experience constipation, diarrhoea, straining, or difficulty controlling your bowels, it may be related to pelvic floor dysfunction, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bowel disease, or previous straining. These issues can sometimes lead to prolapse or even affect bladder control over time.

Around 1 in 20 Australians have trouble with bowel control, and it affects both men and women.

Source: Continence Foundation of Australia

If something doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it. Our Pelvic Health Physiotherapists can assess, treat, and support you to regain bowel control and confidence.

Is men’s pelvic health part of your recovery plan?

Men’s pelvic health is crucial, especially before and after prostate surgery. Prostate cancer treatment, including radical prostatectomy, often leads to urinary incontinence, but targeted pelvic floor physiotherapy can help restore bladder control and improve quality of life.

Starting pelvic floor exercises before surgery can reduce both the severity and duration of leakage. Even after surgery, physiotherapy remains highly effective. Our experienced physiotherapists can guide you in activating the right muscles to support your recovery.

Exercise physiology also plays a key role. With the right support, men undergoing prostate cancer treatment can improve strength, stamina and overall well-being.

If pelvic health physiotherapy and exercise physiology aren’t yet part of your recovery, it’s time to make it a priority, and we’re here to support you.

How can women’s health physiotherapy help during pregnancy?

Pregnancy brings natural physical changes that can cause lower back pain, pelvic girdle pain, other musculoskeletal conditions, or stress incontinence. This is often due to hormonal shifts and the growing weight of your baby, placing added pressure on your pelvis and back. The good news? You don’t have to put up with discomfort.

Women’s health physiotherapists provide personalised support to help you move safely, reduce joint strain, and engage the right muscles, keeping you strong, mobile, and supported throughout your pregnancy.

Targeted pelvic floor muscle training during pregnancy can also reduce the risk of urinary leakage, both before and after birth. Whether you’re aiming to stay ahead of potential issues or manage symptoms as they arise, prenatal physiotherapy can enhance your comfort, confidence, and overall well-being during this important time.

Ready to Start Your Postpartum Recovery Journey?

Welcoming a baby is a special time, but it also brings significant changes to your body. After childbirth, your ligaments, core, and pelvic floor muscles are gradually recovering from the physical demands of pregnancy and delivery.

This is an ideal time to rebuild strength, improve fitness, and seek support if you’re experiencing issues such as abdominal separation, pelvic floor weakness, or incontinence. Women’s health physiotherapists are trained to assess and treat these concerns with care, offering personalised guidance for your recovery journey.

The pelvic floor muscles play a vital role in supporting your bladder, bowel, uterus, and vagina, but they can become weakened during pregnancy and childbirth. With the right support, you can reduce the risk of long-term complications and feel more confident returning to daily activities or exercise.

And don’t worry, your baby is welcome, too. Your physiotherapist can work around feeding or settling, or if you’re comfortable, a team member can help care for your bub while you focus on your treatment to help you achieve your goals.

How Can Exercise Support You During and After Pregnancy?

Regular exercise offers a wide range of health benefits, and that doesn’t change during or after pregnancy. In fact, staying active during this time can help you feel more energised, reduce discomfort, and support your body through its many changes.

As your baby grows, your body adapts in remarkable ways. Maintaining movement can support your flexibility, cardiovascular health, bone and muscle strength, and overall mobility. With clearance from your doctor, you can often continue your usual exercise routine, whether that’s walking, running, gym workouts, Pilates, or yoga. Through pregnancy, exercises may need to be suitably adjusted, which your physiotherapist or exercise physiologist can safely direct you with as your body changes and your baby grows.

After childbirth, exercise can help restore pelvic floor function, rebuild abdominal strength, and improve energy and mood. Targeted exercises can be introduced gradually based on your recovery and goals. It’s important not to rush your body needs time to heal. Our team will work with you to design a safe, progressive plan that supports your return to movement, whether you’re a first-time mum or navigating recovery again. When you’re ready, check in with one of our experienced exercise physiologists to get started.

How Can Pilates Support You During and After Pregnancy?

Pilates is a gentle yet effective way to support your body through the physical changes of pregnancy and to aid in your recovery after childbirth.

As your baby grows, your posture shifts and your ligaments become more relaxed. Prenatal Pilates focuses on maintaining postural control, core stability, and pelvic floor strength. It helps reduce discomfort, improve mobility, and prepare your body for labour. Staying active through pregnancy also supports overall strength and well-being.

Whether you’ve had a vaginal delivery or a C-section, postnatal Pilates can help rebuild your core, improve pelvic floor function, and reduce common issues such as lower back pain and shoulder tension. The focus on deep breathing can boost energy, mental clarity, and emotional calmness. Our Pilates classes encourage you to move at your own pace, take breaks when needed, and listen to your body as you recover.

All classes at Caboolture Physical Therapy Centre are led by experienced physiotherapists or exercise physiologists, who ensure every session is tailored to your needs with exercise modifications as required. They’ll guide you safely through progressions and regressions, helping you regain strength and confidence in movement.

Whether you’re maintaining fitness during pregnancy or rebuilding after birth, our Pilates sessions are designed to support you every step of the way.

How Can Physiotherapy Help with Gynaecological Conditions?

Physiotherapy plays an important role in managing a range of gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, PCOS, sexual dysfunction, and the changes associated with menopause. At Caboolture Physical Therapy Centre, our experienced women’s health physiotherapists provide personalised care to reduce pain, restore pelvic floor function, address associated musculoskeletal issues, and support your overall well-being. Treatment may include pelvic floor therapy, manual therapy, tailored exercise programs, pain management strategies, and guidance on movement and lifestyle modifications.

We also support women before and after gynaecological surgery, such as hysterectomy and prolapse repair. Recovery from these surgeries is a gradual process, and our team is here to guide you every step of the way, helping to improve bladder and bowel control, rebuild strength, and restore function.

Pre- and post-operative physiotherapy may involve:

  • Pelvic floor muscle training
  • Gentle, progressive exercise programs
  • Education on safe movement and exercise techniques
  • Postural advice and lifestyle modifications

Our goal is to empower you with the tools, knowledge, and support you need to feel confident and comfortable, whether you’re recovering from surgery or managing ongoing pelvic health concerns.

Why Is Physiotherapy Important Before and After a Hysterectomy?

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove part or all of the uterus. In some cases, the cervix and/or ovaries may also be removed. The type of hysterectomy and surgical approach, laparoscopic (keyhole), abdominal, or vaginal, will depend on your specific condition, age, and health history, as discussed with your specialist.

There are many medical and personal reasons why a hysterectomy may be recommended. Common reasons include:

  • Uterine fibroids
  • Endometriosis or adenomyosis
  • Chronic pelvic pain
  • Uterine or cervical cancer
  • Uterine prolapse
  • Gender-affirming surgery

Before Surgery

Pre-operative physiotherapy helps prepare your body for surgery by:

  • Strengthening your core and pelvic floor muscles
  • Improving breathing techniques for optimal post-op recovery
  • Promoting better circulation and mobility ahead of your procedure

After Surgery

Recovery takes time, and physiotherapy plays a key role in supporting a safe and effective return to movement. Post-operative physiotherapy can help with:

  • Managing pain and promoting wound healing
  • Supporting bladder and bowel control
  • Improving circulation and reducing the risk of blood clots
  • Rebuilding core and pelvic floor strength
  • Guiding a gradual, safe return to daily activity and exercise based on your surgeon’s lifting restrictions

Our experienced pelvic health physiotherapists at Caboolture Physical Therapy Centre are here to support you before and after your hysterectomy with education, tailored exercises, and individualised care to help you feel confident in your recovery.

https://thewomens.r.worldssl.net/images/uploads/fact-sheets/Hysterectomy-abdominal-280519.pdf

How Can Physiotherapy Help with Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, or bowel) drop into or protrude through the vaginal wall due to weakened pelvic floor muscles and supporting structures. While prolapse surgery can repair the tissues that contribute to prolapse, it doesn’t address the underlying pelvic floor muscle issues or individual risk factors that may have caused the prolapse in the first place.

As pelvic floor physiotherapists, we work alongside your gynaecologist to target the issues that surgery doesn’t fix, helping you achieve the best possible long-term outcomes. Pre- and post-surgery physiotherapy can enhance the results of prolapse surgery by strengthening the pelvic floor muscles that support the pelvic organs.

Before Surgery

If you’re referred to a pelvic floor physiotherapist before surgery, we’ll help you strengthen the pelvic floor muscles through exercises. Just as knee strengthening exercises help support the knee after surgery, pelvic floor training provides a strong foundation to prevent the repaired tissues from stretching and failing after surgery.

After Surgery

Post-operative physiotherapy supports your recovery by following your surgeon’s guidelines and gradually progressing pelvic floor exercises. Initially, exercises focus on gentle pelvic floor contractions while lying down, gradually progressing to standing and sitting positions as you heal. The goal is to ensure that pelvic floor exercises feel comfortable and not painful.

Your physiotherapist will guide you in:

  • Returning to safe general fitness and strength exercises
  • Modifying your return to work, especially if you have a physically demanding job
  • Safely resuming daily activities such as lifting, caring for children or grandchildren, and performing household chores like cleaning, gardening, and shopping

Our goal is to help you recover fully, strengthen your pelvic floor, and maintain optimal pelvic health long-term.

How can your women’s health Physiotherapist assist with Your Pelvic Health Concerns?

Physiotherapy plays a vital role in supporting pelvic health. Our trained physiotherapists can help rehabilitate and retrain the pelvic floor muscles, providing exercises to strengthen weakened muscles and techniques to relax those that are overactive. Your therapist will also assess related areas, such as the back, hips, and abdomen, to identify any underlying issues that may be affecting your pelvic floor function.

Our pelvic health physiotherapists use a wide range of tools to help restore function, improve control, and build your confidence so you can return to doing the things you enjoy.

What Will My Assessment Include?

Every person and every condition is unique—there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. We offer a private consultation room and a supportive, confidential environment where you can feel safe sharing your concerns.

Your initial assessment will be 90 minutes long. During this session, your physiotherapist will:

  • Take a comprehensive health history
  • Consider symptoms that may be related to your pelvic floor and related areas
  • Identify your symptoms and contributing factors
  • Assess your holistically, which may include assessing not only your pelvic floor, but also your pelvis, spine, muscular and nervous systems.
  • Provide education on your condition and treatment
  • Develop a personalised treatment plan based on your individual goals

Depending on your needs, treatment may include:

  • Pelvic floor examination
  • Muscle retraining, stretching and neural mobilisation
  • Relaxation techniques, including breathing exercises, guided imagery, and desensitisation strategies
  • Pelvic floor exercises
  • Bladder and bowel education, including toileting strategies and position modifications (you may be asked to complete a bladder diary)
  • Sexual health advice
  • Support with surgical recovery and education
  • Assessment and treatment of unresolved lower back, hip, or pelvic pain
  • Manual therapy and exercise programmes as indicated

What Other Conditions Can Physiotherapists Help With?

In addition to pelvic health, our physiotherapists can assist with:

What Does an Exercise Physiologist Do?

Our Exercise Physiologists work alongside your Physiotherapist to develop a personalised exercise plan that is pelvic floor safe and tailored to your individual needs. They have specific training in women’s health conditions, assisted by interprofessional education amongst our therapy team. Whether you’re recovering from an injury, managing a chronic condition, or looking to improve strength and confidence, they’re here to support you.

Our Exercise Physiology Services include:

  • Muscle strengthening and stretching programs
  • Graded exercise plans to support return to work, sport, or leisure activities
  • Pelvic floor safe gym and home-based exercise programs
  • Pilates classes and movement education
  • Lifestyle and activity guidance
  • Pain education and management strategies

With growing evidence highlighting the benefits of exercise, there’s no denying its impact on our physical and mental well-being. Regular exercise can:

  • Boost energy levels
  • Enhance mood
  • Improve brain function
  • Reduce the risk of chronic disease
  • Support long-term mobility and health

Just like any other muscle group, your pelvic floor needs regular attention and exercise to stay strong and functional.

The Benefits of Exercise for Women’s Health

  • Improved pelvic floor control
  • Increased pelvic and core stability
  • Enhanced abdominal strength
  • Maintenance of good bone health
  • Prevention and management of Osteoporosis
  • Improvement in continence
  • Greater confidence with daily movement and activities

Exercising your pelvic floor muscles daily can help restore strength and function, especially if they’ve been weakened or overactive. Integrating targeted pelvic floor exercises into your regular routine can make a real difference in your quality of life.

What type of exercise can I do?

If you like exercise, you are more likely to do it. Our Exercise Physiologists and Physios will most likely discuss your preference for exercise and work with you to develop a plan to get you there. They will start with testing what you are capable of at the start, as our patient management is outcome-based. We will be testing along the way and sharing the results so that you know you are getting there.

There are many options, but they will start where it is safe and help you to work up to where you want to be. Our EPs work in:

  • Their dedicated exercise rooms with a variety of equipment
  • In small classes with other people who have similar goals
  • In one-on-one Pilates sessions and small group Pilates classes where you receive individualised care
  • In the hydrotherapy pool. This may be suitable for those with concurrent musculoskeletal injuries or for those who just like swimming.
  • In the gym. Our practice rents space at Anytime Fitness in King St, Caboolture, where they can take you to develop a tailor-made programme to suit your needs. Whether you attend this gym or your own, we will make sure that you have a programme that is safe for you, that suits your needs, and that can be monitored and accelerated as you need.
  • We are a patient-centred practice: if you want to find another way to exercise, we will help you make it work!

What to expect

Your exercise physiologist will take the time to understand your individual condition, current capabilities, and personal goals. We provide a respectful, supportive, and confidential environment where your needs come first. Together, we’ll create an achievable plan to help you feel stronger and more in control.

Who Can Benefit?

Exercise Physiology may be right for you if you are:

  • Experiencing pelvic floor weakness or overactivity
  • Pre- or post-natal and needing tailored movement support
  • Managing weakened abdominal muscles
  • Suffering from pelvic girdle pain or instability
  • Living with back or neck pain

For more information on Women’s Health, Pelvic Health, and the Pelvic Floor, contact us today.

Our Women’s Health Team

Physiotherapy: Kaye Kerr, Nicole Thomson

Exercise Physiology: Emma Perry, Rachel Gregory