Endometriosis & Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

Endometriosis is more than painful periods.

Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, often involving surrounding pelvic structures. It is a complex inflammatory condition that can contribute to pain, inflammation, and changes in how the surrounding muscles and tissues function.

Symptoms can look different from person to person, and the severity of pain does not necessarily reflect the extent of the disease.

Some common symptoms include:

• Painful periods or menstrual cramping that interferes with daily activities

• Chronic pelvic or lower abdominal pain

• Pain with intercourse or sexual activity

• Painful bowel movements, constipation, or bowel discomfort

• Bladder urgency, frequency, or painful urination

• Hip, low back, or abdominal pain

• Pain with exercise or certain movements

• Pelvic pain that persists beyond your menstrual cycle

You may experience several of these symptoms or just one. You also do not need a confirmed endometriosis diagnosis to seek support for pelvic pain.

How can endometriosis affect your pelvic floor?

Although endometriosis involves tissue outside the uterus, its effects can extend beyond the areas directly affected by the disease.

When pain becomes persistent, the pelvic floor muscles may respond by becoming tense, overactive, or protective. This can create additional symptoms and contribute to a cycle of pain and muscle tension.

For example, you may experience:

• Pelvic floor muscle tension or difficulty relaxing

• Pain with penetration, intercourse, or pelvic exams

• Difficulty fully emptying your bladder or bowels

• Increased sensitivity throughout the pelvis, abdomen, or hips

• Pain with prolonged sitting, exercise, or certain movements

This is an important distinction: pelvic floor dysfunction does not cause endometriosis, but it can develop alongside it and contribute to your symptoms.

Even after medical treatment or endometriosis surgery, these muscular and movement-related patterns may persist and benefit from targeted physical therapy.

How can pelvic floor physical therapy help?

Pelvic floor physical therapy addresses the muscles, connective tissues, movement patterns, and nervous system responses that can contribute to pelvic pain.

At Terra Pelvic Health, treatment is tailored to your symptoms, history, and goals. Depending on your needs, your care may include:

✦ Reducing pelvic floor muscle tension

Learn how to recognize and relax overactive pelvic floor muscles through targeted exercises, breathing strategies, and hands-on techniques when appropriate.

✦ Improving abdominal, hip, and pelvic mobility

Address restrictions, movement limitations, and areas of discomfort throughout the abdomen, hips, back, and pelvis.

✦ Addressing bladder and bowel symptoms

Develop strategies to improve bladder and bowel function, reduce straining, and address muscular contributors to urgency, frequency, and discomfort.

✦ Improving comfort with intimacy

Work toward reducing muscular tension and sensitivity that may contribute to painful intercourse or other forms of sexual discomfort.

✦ Building strength and returning to movement

Gradually restore core and pelvic floor coordination, improve movement confidence, and help you return to exercise and activities you enjoy without constantly worrying about triggering symptoms.

✦ Understanding your body and your symptoms

Learn how your pelvic floor functions, what may be contributing to your discomfort, and how to manage symptoms with practical strategies you can use outside the clinic.

Pelvic floor physical therapy does not remove endometriosis lesions or replace medical treatment. Instead, it addresses the additional factors that may be contributing to your pain and limitations.

What to expect at Terra Pelvic Health

Your experience begins with a thorough conversation about your symptoms, medical history, previous treatments, and goals. We want to understand how endometriosis is affecting your life, not just where you experience pain.

Your assessment may include looking at your breathing, core function, hip mobility, abdominal tissues, and pelvic floor muscle function. An internal pelvic floor assessment may be recommended when appropriate, but it is always optional and performed only with your informed consent.

From there, we'll develop an individualized treatment plan based on what your body needs.

Care may include hands-on treatment, therapeutic exercise, breathing and relaxation techniques, movement retraining, and education to help you better manage symptoms.

Whether you're newly diagnosed, have been navigating endometriosis for years, are preparing for or recovering from surgery, or continue to experience symptoms despite medical treatment, pelvic floor physical therapy can be a valuable part of your care team.

You don't have to navigate endometriosis alone.

Living with pelvic pain can be exhausting, especially when symptoms are dismissed, misunderstood, or begin to feel like something you simply have to work around.

You deserve care that listens, looks beyond the surface, and helps you feel more at home in your body.

At Terra Pelvic Health, we provide individualized, one-on-one pelvic floor physical therapy in Cherry Creek, Denver, to help you find a path toward feeling better.

Ready to take the next step?

Schedule your first visit and let's start working toward a better understanding of your body and your pelvic health.