Patient Information

Stress Incontinence (SUI) usually results from weakness and lack of support in the muscles of the pelvic floor.  These are the muscles that attach to the bottom of the pelvic bones.  The pelvic floor muscles also work to strengthen the low back, stabilize the pelvic bones, and help with sexual function.  Women with Stress Incontinence often have "underactive" pelvic floor muscles.  Causes of underactive pelvic floor muscles include:

• Pregnancy and childbirth

• Injury or trama

• Surgery

• Lack of exercise and lack of use 

Men also suffer from Stress Incontinence most often as a result of having or being treated for prostate conditions.  Causes of male SUI may include:

• Injury or trauma

• Surgery

• Prostate conditions

• Lack of exercise and lack of use

Urge Incontinence is the sudden and often frequent need to urinate due to involuntary bladder spasms or contractions, regardless of the amount of urine in the bladder.  Women/Men may notice a strong urge to use the bathroom, but have difficulty getting there in time.  And/or they may notice that once they get to the bathroom, not much urine is voided.  Those with urge incontinence often have weak and "overactive" pelvic floor muscles.

Physical Therapy can give you back your control over your bladder!  Physical therapy can reduce or even eliminate your use of medications for incontinence and possibly prevent the need for surgery.

 A licensed Physical Therapist will meet with you on your initial evaluation to discuss your concerns, explain our program, complete an assessment and establish a plan of care to best meet your goals.

•      Education on diet and nutrition to avoid foods and drinks that may irritate the bladder.

•      Advice on how to change behaviors that make symptoms worse.

•      Techniques to help you find the right muscles and learn to use them correctly.

•      Pelvic floor exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles.

•      Ways to decrease urinary urge and frequency.

•      Biofeedback that shows you how your muscles are working.

•      Electrical stimulation to improve awareness and strength of the muscles.

Pelvic Pain is felt in the lower abdomen, pelvis, or perineum and is considered to be"chronic" when it lasts more than six months.  The pain may vary; some people say that it feels like an aching pain; others say that it feels like a burning, sharp, or stabbing pain, or even pins and needles.  You may also have pain in the hip or buttock, pain in the tailbone or pubic bone, inability to sit for normal periods of time, pain in the joints of the pelvis, pain with sexual intercourse, tender points in the muscles of the abdomen, reduced ability to move your hips or low back, difficulty walking, sleeping, doing physical activities, urinary frequency, urgency, or incontinence, painful bowel movements, constipation or straining with bowel movements. (with a prolapse, there may also be a sensation of pelvic heaviness or a feeling of sitting on a ball due to the pelvic organs bulging).

Based on your evaluation, your therapist will design a treatment plan to help reduce muscle tightness, improve muscle strength, and improve how you use your muscles - which will help reduce your pain and increase your ability to perform your normal routines.  Your therapist will teach you relaxation exercises, show you how to "find" the right muscles and use them correctly, use pelvic floor exercises including kegels, and instruct you in exercises to stretch and strengthen other important muscles and retrain them so that they work together normally.

Lymphedema occurs when there is an abnormal accumulation of lymphatic fluid in a body or region of the body.  Most commonly an arm or leg.  Lymphedema can be hereditary (primary lymphedema) or more commonly a result of surgical removal of lymph nodes, cancer, scar tissue, radiation, or injury to the area.  Secondary Lymphedema can be a hereditary condition, but it is most commonly the result of blockages caused by infection, cancer, and scar tissue from radiation therapy or the surgical removal of lymph nodes. Signs include: swelling in your arms, legs, shoulders, hands, fingers, or chest. Skin that feels tighter, harder, or thicker than normal, aching feeling or heaviness, weakness in your arm or leg, inability to move certain joints such as wrist or ankle, clothing, rings, bracelets, or shoes that fit tighter than before, repeated infections, joint pain, and difficulty doing your daily activities.  Lymphedema is generally not "painful", but can be described as "heaviness and/or pressure."

Jennifer R. Shepherd, PT, CLT-LANA, the owner of Physical Therapy for Women is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist, and is also certified through LANA (Lymphology Association of North America). Jennifer Albert, MSPT, CLT, CIDN, Brittany Reed PT, DPT, CLT, CDN, and Candice Brueck MPT, CLT are also Certified Lymphedema Therapists.  Your therapist will work closely with you to design a treatment program to help you control the swelling and meet your goals for returning to your activities. In early stages of lymphedema swelling is mild and it can often be managed by skin care, manual lymphatic drainage, compression garments, and specific exercises to encourage lymph flow. For more severe swelling, a treatment called "complete decongestive therapy" may be used. The initial step is manual lymphatic drainage (which feels like a massage) and helps to improve flow. This is followed by compression bandaging that helps to reduce the swelling. This is continued daily until the limb is decreased in size as much as possible.  An ideal compression garment is then issued to maintain this progress.  Therapy consists of comprehensive education, and a home exercise program to best assist you in managing your lymphedema.  We are always available to remeasure your arm/leg and help you obtain additional compression garments when/if your future needs change.  We are here to help you best manage your lymphedema while you are a patient and even when you are no longer actively attending therapy. 

Each appointment at Physical Therapy for Women is a private session directly with you therapist. Your evaluation will be one-hour, and all follow-up appointments are 45 minutes.

At Physical Therapy for Women, we understand the need for discretion and sensitivity when dealing with many of these health issues. We work as a team, and your evaluating therapist will choose two additional therapists to be a part of your therapy care... This allows you to gain additional education/expertise and give you more flexibility when scheduling.

Any Physician on your health care team can refer you to Physical Therapy for Women by faxing over your referral to (910) 798-2319, and a member of our front office team will call you to schedule your evaluation. If your provider directly hands you a referral, then you will need to call our office to schedule your evaluation at (910) 798-2318. A referral is not necessary to receive physical therapy in the state of North Carolina, however many insurances do require a referral to utilize insurance benefits. Patients are also able to refer themselves to physical therapy simply by calling our office and requesting an evaluation.

In the state of North Carolina, it is not required to have a referral to receive treatment by an outpatient physical therapist.  However, some insurance do still require a referral.  We encourage you to reach out to your insurance company to see whether or not a referral is required. A referral is not needed for patients who choose to be self-pay.

We do file most major insurances including Medicare, BC/BS, MedCost, United HealthCare, Cigna, and Tricare. Please call your insurance provider for your specific physical therapy benefits. Our Front Office Manager, Deana DeHart can also be contacted at (910) 798-2318 to assist you with any financial concerns.  We file claims daily, electronically.

Although we are in-network with most insurances, patients without insurance or PT coverage can receive services at a self-pay rate.  Please discuss this with our staff prior to, or at the time of scheduling your evaluation.

Feel free to call our office during business hours and request to speak with a therapist about therapy options, or what to expect during your evaluation/treatment. We will do our best to briefly explain what to expect, so as to best prepare you for your care at Physical Therapy for Women. You may also leave your specific question and submit it below for a team member to respond to you via email.

You are in luck!  Please send a question in the Ask A Question section below and our office will respond within one business day.