Down under, top relevant: pelvic floor dysfunction problems in patients with coccygeal, hip and low back pain

Author(s): M. C. Ph. Slieker-ten Hove - Pages: 58–60

Abstract

The pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) play an important role in maintaining continence, supporting the bladder, bowel and uterus, enjoying a satisfying sex life, and providing functional stability to the core and pelvis. The unique skills of pelvic floor physiotherapists mean that they are the most appropriate specialists to diagnose and treat both male and female patients who exhibit the most frequently occurring symptoms of PFM dysfunction. Generally, patients with coccygeal, hip and low back pain (LBP) are not referred to a specialist pelvic floor physiotherapist, and are typically only seen by a musculoskeletal, manual or sports physiotherapist. The usual care given is solely focused on the symptoms discussed during the subjective assessment, which hardly ever, or never, includes questions about the patient’s bladder, bowels and sex life. Consequently, important factors are missed, and such individuals can suffer from chronic pain. These patients become a burden to themselves and society, and incur greater healthcare costs. Musculoskeletal physiotherapists are often unaware of the roles played by the PFMs and intra-abdominal pressure. The aim of this paper is to encourage pelvic floor physiotherapists to motivate and educate their colleagues who work in other physiotherapy specialities in order to increase their awareness of and ability to recognize pelvic floor problems in individuals with coccygeal, hip and LBP, and refer appropriate patients for a specialized assessment.

Keywords: coccydynia, intra-abdominal pressure, low back pain, pelvic floor muscles.