Clinical practice in pelvic floor physiotherapy and COVID-19: a clinical commentary

Author(s): C. Siracusa - Pages: 9-14

Abstract

Abstract
Many physiotherapists have experience of working with the survivors of large-scale pandemics. The rehabilitation of functional deficits can include pelvic floor physiotherapy to decrease the bowel and bladder dysfunction that can be associated with a long illness. As more patients survive COVID-19, there is an increasing need for various forms of physiotherapy. Unfortunately, not much is known about the long-term side effects of this novel coronavirus. There is an abundance of literature about diseases with similar sequelae, and physiotherapists can learn and extrapolate treatment techniques from these sources. This article discusses what is currently known about the bowel and bladder sequelae of COVID-19, as well as the implications for further research and treatment in the field of pelvic floor physiotherapy. Physiotherapists can improve the quality of life of survivors of COVID-19 by screening for bowel and bladder dysfunction, as well as appropriately scaling exercise to improve their return to function.

Keywords: clinical practice, coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, pelvic floor physiotherapy.