Excited but nervous about starting your pelvic wellness journey?

We understand it can feel intimidating, other patients have felt the same way yet we have found that being armed with some information on what to expect helps tremendously.

BEFORE YOUR VISIT

• Fill in the online Health Questionnaire and Consent Form prior to your visit. A detailed yet super convenient online form will be sent 48 hours prior to your visit. Make sure you fully understand your insurance and financial responsibilities. Filling out this form beforehand helps maximize treatment time so that you can starting getting better, faster. 
• Wear comfortable loose clothing that you can move around in is recommended.
• Make a list of any questions that you have. All too often patients forget their questions during the session.
• Bring your insurance and payment card.
• Arrive 15 minutes early to ensure smooth intake and start to you session.

YOUR FIRST VIST

Your physical therapist (PT) will begin an hour-long initial evaluation with lots of questions and a review of your health questionairre.

After discussing your history and goals for physical therapy, your PT will likely explain relevant anatomy, using pictures and models, to help you understand more about the body, including the pelvic floor and how it may be related to your symptoms.

Your PT will then explain and perform special tests and measures. This will likely include an orthopedic assessment of the spine, hips, and lower extremities to determine strength, range of motion, and any other anatomical factors that could be contributing to your symptoms.

The best practice and standard examination typically includes a pelvic floor assessment, which consists of both an internal and external examination of the pelvic floor muscles. This exam may be vaginal, rectal, or both depending on your condition. You can opt out of this part of the examination at any time.

For the pelvic exam, your therapist will leave the room and have you undress from the waist down. You will start on your back, covered with a sheet. We do not use stirrups for your feet, instead we have your legs resting on pillows in a butterfly position.

For the external portion of the pelvic exam, we will lift the sheet and watch you perform a pelvic floor contraction or kegel, relax, and bare down so we can assess the range of motion of your pelvic floor muscles. We may also palpate externally along the superficial musculature of the pelvic floor, inner thighs, and abdomen.

For the internal portion of the exam your therapist will use a gloved finger with lubricant to digitally assess your pelvic floor muscles.  Fear not, we don’t use a speculum.  We may palpate the muscles to assess if they are tender or tight and we may also ask you to perform a squeeze or Kegel to asses the strength of the muscles. 

Following the exam, your PT will explain their findings and what their plan of care looks like based on the exam. If time allows, your PT will start treatment. This may be in the form of manual therapy, education, or exercises.

Toward the end of the session, your PT will prepare a note to communicate the important information from your examination to other health care professionals as deemed appropriate.

If you have any other questions or concerns regarding what to expect at your first appointment, please call us.

We look forward to meeting you soon!

CANCELLATIONS & NO-SHOW

Keeping your treatment costs down and affordable is one of our goals.​

Late cancellation and “no-shows” are very costly to healthcare providers.

These empty treatment slots also result in a missed opportunity to help heal other patients who often have life debilitating conditions.

To cancel an appointment, we kindly ask for at least 24 business hours notice. To cancel a Monday appointment, we must be notified on Friday before the scheduled appointment time.

In the event of a late cancellation or “no-show,” your account will be assessed a $90 cancellation fee. This charge will not be covered by insurance but will have to be paid by you personally. To keep costs down for all, we must strictly abide by this policy.