FAQs
Everything you need to know, in one place.
Loose fitting clothing that you are comfortable to move in are best. It’s helpful to see the areas where you are experiencing symptoms so you may be asked to remove t-shirt etc in order to facilitate this.
For Mummy MOT, Women’s and Men’s Health appointments, an internal pelvic examination is very useful to fully understand your symptoms. This is always discussed with you first and a model of the pelvis is used to demonstrate what is involved. You can always ask to skip this part of the assessment or consider it for another time. It is important to know that internal assessments and treatments are always your choice.
There are other options to examine your pelvic floor muscle function, such as Real Time Ultrasound or external palpation of your muscles. Whilst valuable information can be gained from these alternatives to internal assessment, they do not provide the same level of detail. Together however with other elements of the assessment, sufficient information can be gained to start appropriate treatment.
We are used to examining women during their period and it does not limit our assessment. Your comfort is always paramount though, so if you would prefer not to be examined then we can discuss this at your appointment.
Treatment should not be painful but sometimes there can be some temporary discomfort following an appointment. We will always discuss treatment responses and what to expect so please do let us know if what you experience is not as discussed.
Some patients may only need to come for an assessment appointment for advice and reassurance, but more typically 4-6 sessions maybe required. The aim is always to help you reach a point where you feel that your symptoms have improved and can continue to self manage. Some patients with more complex symptoms benefit from continued support periodically.
We understand that it can be difficult to attend an appointment on your own when you have a small baby so we will always welcome you to bring your baby with you. However, as we know only too well, babies can be unpredictable in their needs and toddlers can be very inquisitive! This can be distracting for you and you may not be able to make the most of the session.