When the muscles, tissues, or nerves around the bladder and urethra are not functioning properly, it can result in uncomfortable symptoms that disrupt daily life. If you’re in Brooklyn, NY, pelvic floor physical therapy could help restore normal function and alleviate symptoms such as difficulty urinating, a frequent urge to urinate, and other related issues.
What is Healthy Bladder Function?
A normally functioning bladder typically exhibits the following patterns:
- You’ll urinate about six to eight times in a 24‑hour span
- Each visit to the restroom lasts longer than eight seconds
- Initiating the flow of urine feels effortless
- The sensation of needing to empty your bladder disappears once you’ve voided
- Most people under 60 only wake once at night to urinate, whereas those over 60 or who are pregnant may need to go twice
Symptoms of Bladder Dysfunction and Urinary Incontinence
Key indicators of potential bladder issues include:
- Discomfort or aching around the bladder or urethra, day-to-day or when you urinate
- Accidental urine loss while coughing, laughing, sneezing, or engaging in physical activity
- Leakage occurring on the way to the bathroom
- A powerful urge to urinate even when the bladder isn’t full
- Numerous bathroom visits with minimal urine output
- A slow, hesitant stream during urination
- An immediate need to urinate after completing exercise
- Urgency to void during or after intercourse, sometimes resulting in leakage with orgasm
If you’re experiencing any of these signs, it’s advisable to seek medical advice to rule out or address bladder and urinary disorders.
What Causes Bladder Dysfunction and Urinary Incontinence?
Bladder dysfunction and urinary incontinence may result from a variety of factors. Potential causes include:
- Recurring urinary tract infections
- Recurring yeast infections
- Menopause
- Childbirth and breastfeeding
- Medications, including hormonal suppressive medications
- Surgery and various traumas to the body
- Constipation
- Bloating
- Biomechanical issues, such as hip dysfunction
- Pelvic floor dysfunction
- Pelvic organ prolapse
What is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Bladder and Urinary Incontinence?
If you live in Brooklyn and are dealing with bladder control or urinary incontinence, pelvic floor physical therapy can retrain your pelvic muscles to function at their best. Both external and internal manual techniques are used to mobilize the tissues surrounding your bladder, helping to relieve uncomfortable symptoms.
You’ll also receive a personalized set of at‑home exercises to perform regularly, teaching your body new movement patterns and further enhancing the mobility and strength of your pelvic muscles and connective tissues.
Ready to ease your pain?
Benefits of Working with a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist
- Reduce discomfort and calm pelvic pain
- Relieve tightness in bladder‑related musculature
- Improve functional movement and flexibility through manual techniques and tailored exercises
- Restore the ideal resting length and contractile tension of your pelvic floor
- Enhance tissue perfusion for more efficient healing
- Reinforce overall physical performance by rebalancing pelvic muscle coordination
What To Expect
During Your Initial Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Appointment
If you’re traveling from Brooklyn to our Midtown or Downtown NY offices, your first appointment at Beyond Basics begins with a thorough intake: our clinicians will ask detailed questions about your health history and current symptoms to gather the context needed for a precise evaluation. We’ll then proceed with a hands‑on physical exam guided by your specific complaints—this may include assessing both external muscle groups and internal pelvic floor muscles to trace your discomfort back to its source and begin easing your pain.
The internal manual techniques we employ target the structures of the pelvis, including the pelvic floor musculature, associated nerves, and bony framework, to promote mobility and symptom relief. Your comfort is our top priority—you have the right to decline any technique at any moment without explanation. Before you leave, your physical therapist will equip you with a tailored set of at‑home exercises designed to retrain movement patterns, further mobilize your pelvic muscles and tissues, and help alleviate your urinary symptoms between visits.
During Your Additional Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Appointments
Appointments for pelvic floor physical therapy are set at one hour each. During this time, your therapist may employ hands‑on manual techniques, review and discuss your progress, address any questions you have, and provide tailored exercises to perform at home. Most people begin to experience noticeable symptom relief within eight weeks, and many report improvements even earlier.
Beyond Basics Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: We Can Help
At Beyond Basics we honor each person’s unique journey—addressing pelvic floor concerns with sensitivity to your needs, regardless of sex, race, identity, age, or orientation. We embrace a holistic biopsychosocial model that treats you as a whole person, combining physical care with emotional and social support.
Since 2003, Beyond Basics has been a beacon of hope and healing for individuals like you. We believe that compassionate expertise can restore harmony and balance to your body. Our founders, Amy Stein and Corey Hazama, are internationally recognized leaders in pelvic floor physical therapy whose vision guides every aspect of our practice.
Our therapists are among the world’s foremost experts in pelvic floor rehabilitation, having undergone rigorous training far beyond their doctoral programs. Each clinician was chosen for their clinical mastery, kindness, and genuine empathy. They’ve completed hundreds of additional hours of specialized coursework—both in‑house and through premier institutions like Herman & Wallace and the American Physical Therapy Association—to refine their skills and deliver exceptionally effective, compassionate care.
Beyond their foundational expertise in pelvic floor dysfunction, each therapist brings unique personal specializations to the practice. Whether it’s in advanced manual techniques, mindfulness integration, or women’s health, our team members have cultivated additional skills to meet your specific needs. Discover more about each of our therapists here.
Get help now from a pelvic floor therapist.
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