Pelvic Floor Retraining

Who can attend the Pelvic Floor Retraining- PFR?
Patients with constipation, difficult bowel evacuation or poor bowel control can be helped with pelvic floor retraining. Those with mild to moderate symptoms can have a very good response and surgery might not be needed. Patients with severe symptoms can still benefit from the programme, optimising their pelvic floor function in preparation for surgery or other treatments by improving muscle function and ensuring that bowel habits are as healthy as possible.

What is the Pelvic Floor Retraining session?
The appointment is kept informal, we encourage patients to engage and ask questions about what they would like to know regarding their condition and focus on symptoms they need to get help with. In the beginning, a short patient education session is held to explain the normal function and anatomy of the large bowel and rectum, followed by a brief explanation of the pelvic floor disorders.

The specialist nurses in collaboration with the patient will agree on a plan with 1-2 goals. Diet, medication, pelvic floor exercises, stool consistency and correct positioning on the toilet is discussed. Together we will identify areas of possible problems and try to find solutions.

After 3 months patients will return for a second appointment and along with the nurses they will explore the option of adding new goals or discuss the barriers encountered. At this stage some of them might be discharged if they are managing their symptoms satisfactorily. Others will be offered the Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation (as another non-surgical form of treatment for FI) or Surgery.