Women's Health: Physio By Video

With the spread of COVID-19 keeping people at home, Physiotherapists are turning to online consultations to continue to provide essential care to our clients. Pregnant women are classified as more “vulnerable” during a pandemic and therefore must adhere to the precautions of staying home. However, pregnant and post-natal women will still experience bladder and bowel issues as well as low back and pelvic girdle pain during this time and care must be made available.

An online Physiotherapy consultation runs very similarly to an in-clinic consultation. An in depth- subjective interview is carried out to find out about the client’s concern. At the end of this interview, the Physiotherapist will have a good idea as to what assessments need to be done and what treatment will involve.

A pelvic floor assessment can’t be done over the internet, however research has shown that 75% of women correctly contract their pelvic floor muscles with instruction alone (Henderson et al., 2013).

Assessment tools that can used online:

· Bladder and fluid diaries

· Bowel and diet diaries

· Movement analysis for back, hip and pelvic pain

· Visual observation

· Questionnaires measuring severity of concern and impact on quality of life

A provisional diagnosis will then be made and explained as well as:

· Thorough education

· Helpful strategies to manage symptoms

· Lifestyle and exercise advice

· Home exercise program: stretches, strength exercises, pelvic floor exercises

The education, advice and home exercise program will be emailed to the client immediately following the session.

A recent study investigated the effectiveness of online telehealth appointments for treatment of urinary incontinence. The results showed that all participants had an improvement in their urinary symptoms and there was a high satisfaction with the telehealth method of delivery (Conlan et al., 2016).

During a crisis like the current coronavirus pandemic, as well as for clients who live in remote areas, the use of online Physiotherapy consultations can be used as an effective mode of treatment and management.

Our senior Pelvic Heath Physiotherapist Anna White is now available for 'Physio By Video' appointments. To book in call the clinic on 9284 4405 or click here

References

Conlan, L., Thompson, J., & Fary, R. (2016). An exploration of the efficacy of telehealth in the assessment and management of stress urinary incontinence among women in rural locations. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal, The, 22(3), 58-64.

Henderson, W. J., Wang, J. S., Egger, J. M., Masters, J. M., & Nygaard, J. I. (2013). Can Women Correctly Contract Their Pelvic Floor Muscles Without Formal Instruction? Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, 19(1), 8-12. https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0b013e31827ab9d0