What should our patients be striving for in regards to pelvic muscle floor exercises?
Answer
—Goal is to perform at least 10 repetitions of 10 second sustained contractions without using excessive abdominal or gluteal muscle co-contraction, and without significant fatigue during the exercise set.
—She may have to start with 5 second contractions
—She should also be able to perform quick contractions with a maximal squeeze and full and complete relaxation in between.
—She should perform at least 3 sets of 10 reps of both endurance and fast twitch pelvic floor exercises daily during the postpartum year.
Cynthia Neville, PT, DPT, WCS, BCB-PMD
Dr. Cynthia (Cindy) Neville, PT, DPT, WCS is Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Mayo Clinic Alix College of Medicine, in Jacksonville, Florida. She is a Women’s Health Certified Specialist (WCS), board certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. She serves on the faculty of the Mayo Clinic Florida Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency Program, and advises multiple medical specialty programs at Mayo Clinic Florida. Her outpatient clinical practice at Mayo Clinic Florida serves women and men with pelvic floor disorders. Dr. Neville has authored and co-authored several research articles and book chapters on the topics of pelvic health rehabilitation, pelvic pain, and urinary incontinence. She has presented her research and provided rehabilitation and medical education nationally and internationally. She has developed successful Pelvic and Women’s Health Rehabilitation Programs at premier healthcare organizations including the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab) and Mayo Clinic Florida. At Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, Dr. Neville developed the first institutional pelvic health rehabilitation program across all levels of care, and the first credentialed physical therapy women’s health residency program in the state of Florida. She has trained more than a thousand physical therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapist assistants, and physicians in pelvic floor examination and pelvic health rehabilitation.
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