There are many possible reasons why someone may have pelvic surgery: severe pelvic organ prolapse (POP) causing serious discomfort, anal sphincter muscle injury, perineal trauma, endometriosis, tumor in the pelvis, or feeling of a wide vagina with decreased quality of life, to name a few. It is always best to try conservative measures first if your condition is not life threatening, but if your symptoms persist despite treatment, your doctor may suggest an operation.
If you need surgery anyway, should you still have physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is strongly advised before surgery, as having good muscular control will make rehabilitation afterwards much easier. The role of surgery for example in POP is to correct anatomical problems, such as the uterus’ position being low in the pelvis, or the back side of the vaginal wall being too loose, the anal sphincter circle not being fully closed, removing tissue not belonging there etc. Operations do not correct function, only the positional and structural problems, therefore exercise is key in regaining function. To improve muscle strength, endurance, coordination and tone, targeted exercise is the only way to go!
Your operating doctor should always be aware that you are planning on participating in physiotherapy and s/he must inform you when it is safe to start after surgery. Postoperatively, breathing exercises, exercises done to improve circulation and light pelvic floor muscle contractions are usually a good place to start. Depending on the healing time, we may begin to do more intense exercises. Therapeutic modalities can be found in more detail on this page.
Women’s Health Physiotherapy assists women through different cycles of life