The Physical Therapy Approach to Pelvic Pain

Abstract Because pelvic floor physical therapy is capable of treating all the musculoskeletal impairments that contribute to pelvic pain, it has proven to be an invaluable part of treatment for musculoskeletal causes of functional pelvic pain. This chapter and Chapter 18 on treatment focus on both the evaluation and treatment, respectively, of the physical therapy approach to pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. We discuss first what the pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation should consist of and how it should be executed, then define and describe the various forms of treatment. Both evaluation and treatment of pelvic floor disorders require post-graduate training. This chapter begins with the context within which the physical therapy approach is applied—that is, in the anatomy of the pelvic floor and its dysfunction.