Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome: Perks of Pelvic Floor Therapy

Your body is like a complex puzzle, with each piece playing a role in keeping things running smoothly. Your ovaries help control hormones and manage your period. But sometimes things don’t go as planned, and a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can change your quality of life. PCOS often goes hand in hand with another issue: pelvic floor dysfunction.

Here’s what PCOS is, how it affects your body and your pelvic floor, and how pelvic floor therapy can help alongside your medical care.

What is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is a hormonal condition that involves imbalances in reproductive hormones, insulin resistance and changes in how the ovaries work. Several factors contribute to it:

1. Hormonal imbalance: higher levels of some hormones, like testosterone, can disrupt your menstrual cycle and make it harder to get pregnant.
2. Insulin resistance: insulin helps your body use sugar for energy. With PCOS, your body may not respond well to insulin, which can lead to weight gain and a higher risk of diabetes.
3. Ovary health: the ovaries may not release eggs regularly, which can make it hard to get pregnant and can lead to small cysts.

PCOS Symptoms and the Pelvic Floor

PCOS can affect your body in many ways, and some of them reach your pelvic floor:

• Period problems: irregular ovulation can make periods irregular, heavier or lighter, and painful cycles can leave the pelvic floor muscles guarded and tense.
• Trouble getting pregnant: fertility struggles are stressful, and stress often shows up as tension in the pelvic floor.
• Extra hair growth: PCOS can cause hair growth on the face, chest and back (hirsutism), which can affect body image and stress levels.
• Acne: hormonal changes can make your skin break out more than usual.
• Weight gain: insulin resistance can make weight harder to manage, especially around the belly. Extra weight adds pressure on the pelvic floor, which can contribute to weakness or leaking.
• Diabetes and heart health: PCOS raises the risk of diabetes and heart disease later in life, and these conditions can make pelvic floor problems harder to manage.

Together, hormonal changes, weight fluctuations and emotional stress can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction, including muscle tension, weakness and urinary issues. That’s why it helps to address both PCOS and the pelvic floor.

How Do You Know If You Have PCOS?

Diagnosing PCOS involves talking with your doctor and doing some tests:

1. Talking about symptoms: your doctor will ask about your periods, hair growth and other symptoms.
2. A physical exam: to check for signs like acne, extra hair growth or weight changes.
3. Blood tests: to check your hormone levels.
4. Ultrasound: an image that can show whether your ovaries have cysts or other changes.

Dealing With PCOS and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: What To Do

If you have PCOS and pelvic floor symptoms, there are things you can do on both fronts.

How Can You Manage PCOS?

Managing PCOS usually involves lifestyle changes and, for some people, medication or supplements your doctor recommends:

1. Healthy eating: plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and fewer sugary foods and drinks.
2. Exercise: regular exercise can improve insulin resistance, help with weight management and make you feel better overall.
3. Supplements: ask your doctor whether supplements such as inositol or omega-3 fatty acids make sense for you.
4. Support: talking with friends, family or a counselor can help with the stress and emotions that come with PCOS.

How Pelvic Floor Therapy Can Help

Pelvic floor therapy doesn’t treat PCOS itself, but it can treat the pelvic floor problems that often come with it, such as pelvic pain, urinary symptoms and pain with sex. A pelvic floor therapist assesses how your muscles are working and builds a plan around what they find. That plan may include:

• Muscle tension relief: hands-on techniques such as myofascial release and trigger point work can help release tension in the pelvic floor and reduce discomfort.
• Relaxation and breathing: learning to relax the pelvic floor and breathe well can calm muscles that stay guarded.
• Pain management: releasing tension, improving flexibility and restoring movement can ease pelvic pain.
• Better bladder control: pelvic floor exercises and coordination training can help with urgency, frequency or leaking.
• More comfortable intimacy: treating tight or painful muscles can make sex more comfortable (see pelvic therapy for painful intercourse).
• Exercise you can keep doing: a plan that lets you stay active, which supports PCOS management too.

Pelvic floor tension can also cause symptoms that feel like a bladder infection. Read when it’s not a UTI but feels like one to learn more.

When to See Your Doctor Right Away

• Sudden, severe pelvic pain: especially on one side, which can signal a ruptured or twisted ovarian cyst
• Pain with fever or vomiting: or feeling faint or dizzy
• Very heavy bleeding: soaking a pad or tampon every hour
• Possible pregnancy: with pelvic pain or bleeding

Conclusion

PCOS might feel like a big puzzle, but with the right support and knowledge, you can manage it and live a healthy life. Talk to your doctor about any concerns or questions about PCOS. If you’re also dealing with pelvic pain, leaking or tension, a pelvic floor therapist can give you targeted treatment for those symptoms. Our guide to everything you need to know about pelvic pain is a good next read.

Get Relief From PCOS-Related Pelvic Symptoms

If cramping, bloating, pelvic pressure or tension is making life with PCOS harder, you’re not alone. Our pelvic floor physical therapy in Fort Myers starts with The Gray Method™, one-on-one with a Doctor of Physical Therapy at our clinics in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Estero.

Start with our Fixing the Cause & Not Just the Symptoms Assessment, or Inquire About an Appointment →

Call our office at (239) 223-0484 to schedule your appointment.