Physical Therapy

[Valentinesstuff]

I have a Physical Therapy appointment in early July, the soonest they had an opening. I just got  a SIX page questionnaire to fill out for the appointment. A lot isn't applicable as it deals with urinary control and some deals with female anatomy, and some I'm not sure exactly how to answer. Sometimes isn't an option.

[Slomo]

Been there, done that. 1 being no control through 10 being full control, right? Look at it like this. Out of every 10 days, how many days do you have even minor bowel problems. That number is your 1-10.

[Valentinesstuff]

I saw the Therapist, and it went well. Most of it was a discussion of the whats, wheres, whys, and hows of fecal incontinence and mine specifically. She showed me anatomical models of how the various muscles work, apologizing about half the time that the model was for a woman. I was surprised to find that pelvic floor muscles and the abdominal wall muscles work together. She explained a few things, like while holding your breath intrinsically weakens your pelvic floor muscles. 

 

She did a similar exam to the manometry, although not as invasive. She agreed with the previous diagnosis of general weakening of the pelvic floor muscles, especially for long durations. There is really only one exercise to do, but I'm supposed to do it in all different positions. Standing, sitting, walking, laying down, whatever. The hard part is tightening it for any duration and breathing normally. 

 

I have three or four more appointments over the next few months. 

 

On 6/13/2025 at 3:49 AM, Slomo said:

Been there, done that. 1 being no control through 10 being full control, right? Look at it like this. Out of every 10 days, how many days do you have even minor bowel problems. That number is your 1-10.

Turns out I was sent an old questionnaire to fill out. The therapist kind of sighed and said she could work with it. 

[Valentinesstuff]

More physical therapy today.

[Valentinesstuff]

Asked my Physical Therapist about protection. I showed her the cheap barely functional Attends and a MegaMax, then asked if she knew of a happy medium. Nope, although she did say she would ask a colleague. 

 

She did ask me one, I guess expected question, and one odd question. The expected was "Are you having any urinary issues?" She has asked me this several times. The odd question was "Are you wearing these all the time?" Now if I knew when I would need them, I could arrange to be somewhere where I wouldn't need them. 

 

We did some biofeedback and learned that I have relaxation issues. I can tighten up the muscles, but have a hard time returning to the fully relaxed state. 

Edited August 15, 2025 by Valentinesstuff

[Valentinesstuff]

Another visit with the Physical Therapist. New exercises. One thing is that it can be difficult to not use the butt muscles instead of the pelvic floor muscles. 

 

It is a bit weird to be sore down there from the exercises.

 

I need to remember to ask her how many male patients she gets, because all the exercise pictures and such are of females.