Pediatric Pelvic Floor Therapy

Dawn Sandalcidi, PT, RCMT, BCB-PMD

Healing and Confidence for Your Child

Does Your Child Suffer from Incontinence?
Physical Therapy Specialists empower you and your child with tailored PT treatment.

Our multifactorial approach offers peace of mind!
- Establish Continence
- Decrease Urinary or Fecal Leakage
- Increase Function
- Provide Education
- Empower You and Your Child with Confidence
- Give Freedom to Enjoy Activities and Daily Life

Pediatric Incontinence:
Bowel and bladder problems occur for many reasons in children due to pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. These muscles stop working with the bladder and/or bowel causing disruption of normal voiding and/or bowel emptying reflexes. When a chronic abnormal pattern of elimination develops, the bladder or bowel doesn’t empty completely.

Symptoms of Pediatric Incontinence:
- Difficulty urinating or controlling bladder function
- Frequent bladder infections
- Constipation
- Not urinating enough during the day
- Failure to sense bladder fullness
- Urine leakage during the day or bedwetting

The Importance of PT Treatment for Children:
Incontinence is embarrassing and uncomfortable. Along with the mental health impact, urinary tract infections (UTI) impact your child’s physical wellbeing.

With the right treatment, your child can find relief from incontinence. They gain confidence and restore their quality of life. Your child no longer needs to fear having an accident or leak. They can pursue healthy and typical childhood activities, like sports, school, and playdates free from the embarrassment of incontinence.

Physical Therapy Treatment for Pediatric Incontinence:
Some children suffer from Post Void Residual (PVR). This is a condition where residual urine remains in the bladder after peeing due to the bladder not emptying completely. Non-relaxing pelvic floor muscles can cause this situation to occur. Physical therapy can help with this!

A Real-Time Ultrasound (RTUS) looks at the bladder to see if it has emptied completely. This is a non-invasive procedure. The physical therapist places a sound head over the lower abdomen and takes ultrasound pictures of the bladder to measure the volume inside. This tool also gauges progress, ensuring the bladder is emptying completely as therapy progresses.

Optimally, the bladder and pelvic floor muscles work opposite each other to successfully urinate. When the bladder muscle contracts or the bowels need to empty, the pelvic floor muscles relax. Based on your child’s customized treatment plan, they learn exercises to relax and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles at the appropriate time. This allows them to empty completely and to avoid urinary and/or bowel leakage.

Therapy provides the tools your family needs to take control of your child’s bladder and bowel functions. You receive a home program specifically developed for your child. The treatment program includes education and exercises to empower your child with sustainable healing solutions.

Therapy also helps your child learn correct postures for toileting, foods that may be irritating to the bladder, and how to create a regular pattern of filling and emptying the bladder and bowels through a toileting schedule.

Incontinence Treatment Tools:
- Rehabilitative Ultrasound
- Pelvic floor muscle visual evaluation and treatment (no internal assessment)
- Bladder schedule to improve bladder habits
- Rehabilitative Ultrasound to retrain your deep core muscles for stability
- Neuromuscular re-education
- Modalities, such as therapeutic ultrasound and cold laser

Specialists Treating Incontinence in Children:
If your child has experienced any of the above symptoms, their physician or specialist may recommend therapy to relax and retrain the pelvic floor muscles. At Physical Therapy Specialists, we have advanced training with a focus on incontinence treatment.

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