What should you wear to pelvic floor therapy?

The pelvic floor is a hammock-like structure of soft tissue in your lower torso. It’s designed to help hold organs like the rectum, bladder and bowels in place. However, the pelvic floor can become overstretched or tense, which can lead to a variety of issues. In fact, myofascial pain in the pelvic floor is reported to be responsible for up to 23% of chronic pelvic pain cases (Harvard Health, 2018). It has also been shown to be the root cause of 78% of cases of a bladder condition called interstitial cystitis (Harvard Health, 2018). 

Pelvic floor physical therapy has been shown to offer effective pelvic pain reduction. One study showed that at least two sessions of this type of therapy produced pain relief in 63% of its participants. Before you start this pelvic floor therapy, you might be wondering what you should wear to your appointments. This question isn’t as silly as it might appear. 

Three tips on what you should wear to pelvic floor therapy

It’s estimated that pelvic floor therapy lasts for about six to eight, hourlong appointments on average (Harvard Health, 2018). Since you’ll be going to multiple sessions, it’s not a bad idea to consider what you should wear to pelvic floor therapy. Here are three clothing tips that can help keep you as comfortable as possible during your sessions:

1. Wear loose, comfortable clothing — Pelvic floor therapy sessions could involve doing specific therapeutic exercises. These exercises might require you to get up and move around. Loose, comfortable clothing is a good option for your sessions because it can reduce chafing during these movements. This type of clothing can help decrease movement restrictions as well. 

2. Wear comfortable shoes — It’s harder and more uncomfortable to do therapy exercises in shoes that aren’t designed for exercise. Wearing shoes that are intended for exercise can help increase your comfort level. The shoes you wear should also provide good foot support. Additionally, you might want to consider wearing shoes that are fairly easy to take off. This can be helpful if therapists intend to perform internal manipulations that will require removing your pants. 

3. Wear warm socks — When therapists do internal manipulations, you’ll typically be given a covering for your lower body. However, your feet will be exposed during these manipulations. This exposure can lead to uncomfortable cold feet due to the clinic’s temperature or cold floors. For this reason, patients coming to pelvic floor therapy are encouraged to wear warm socks. 

Find high-quality pelvic floor therapy at Advent Physical Therapy

Are you wondering what you should wear to your pelvic floor therapy session? Our Advent Physical Therapy team is ready to answer this and other questions for you. We can also provide you with a free screening, which is intended to reveal the source of your pelvic issue. Additionally, our team can create a personalized pelvic floor therapy plan to address your issue. 

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule your free screening.