Nationwide, the core curriculum for most massage therapy schools consists of a 500-hour program focusing on Swedish massage techniques. This basic modality is solely for improving joint movement and relaxing muscle tissue. Due to the limited education required to learn this technique, many states don’t allow massage therapists to perform pelvic floor or pelvic internal work.
North Carolina massage law, however, allows a licensed massage and bodywork therapist to perform pelvic floor and pelvic internal therapy. (See North Carolina’s “Rules and Regulations,” section .0516) Yet many therapists aren’t trained to treat pelvic disorders. Because of this, they completely avoid the pelvic area and pelvic pain symptoms. Unfortunately, many therapists are more concerned with providing their clients with a relaxing experience than treating pain or other soft tissue disorders.
Pelvic disorders often lead to pain and other issues (please see “What symptoms can be treated” below). As a treatment modality, manual therapy is an excellent, proven way to relieve pain and correct soft tissue disorders that cause pain. The goal of internal pelvic therapy is the same as treating the rest of the body—to help improve the quality of your life by reducing pain and correcting soft tissue disorders. Initially, the idea of internal therapy may not be appealing. Many may wonder if it’s painful. Others may feel ill at ease about receiving therapy in an area associated with intimacy. At Dr. Green N.D. & Associates we always treat our patients in a dignified and professional manner.
Both male and female patients have and can be treated for pelvic disorders. Depending on the issues involved, treatment can be done slowly and carefully externally or internally through the anus or vagina. Usually, internal therapy only lasts a few minutes and is part of a full body session. It’s rarely done as a singular treatment. Most of patients report feeling a sense of “pressure” or a “slight pinch” when they receive internal therapy, not pain.
| What symptoms can be treated. · Bladder Discomfort · Bladder Issues · Chronic Nonbacterial Prostatitis · Chronic Pelvic Pain · Coccygodynia (Tailbone Pain) · Cyclist’s Syndrome · Diastasis Recti · Difficulty Emptying the Bladder · Dysmenorrhea (Painful Periods) · Dyspareunia (Painful Intercourse) · Dysuria (pain with urination) · Endometriosis · Fibromyalgia · Frequency / Urgency of Urination · Genital Numbness · Incontinence / Leakage · Interstitial Cystitis · Lateral leg rotation · Lower Back Pain · Painful Bladder Syndrome · Pelvic Organ Prolapse · Pelvic Pain Syndromes · Postoperative Rehabilitation · Pregnancy Related Issues · Prenatal and Postpartum · Pudendal Neuralgia · Rectal Pain · Sacro-iliac / SI joint pain · Sciatica · Urinary / Bowel / Sexual Dysfunction · Vestibulodynia · Vulvar / Vaginal Pain Syndrome · Vulvar Vestibulitis |
Dr. Robert Green, N.D. 