Hi friends! This week we are going to talk about a tool that can be used at home to help with pelvic pain, pain with insertion, and overactive pelvic floor muscles. We’re talking about a pelvic wand. There are different brands including Therawand and Intimate Rose.
When the pelvic floor muscles are overactive, they become tight it can make tasks like peeing, pooping, or penetration difficult and/or painful. We can use myofascial techniques to help with pain and trigger points in the pelvic floor muscles to allow them to relax or drop.
Other muscles in our body can become overactive and develop trigger points too, like our neck and shoulders or piriformis. The difference with the pelvic floor is that it is a little harder to reach those muscles. A pelvic wand is a tool that can be inserted either vaginally or rectally to reach the pelvic floor muscles to allow us to release them. The wands are designed to curve to allow us to reach the pelvic floor muscles on the inside of the pelvic bowl.
One of the best things about a pelvic wand is that it is relatively cheap and does not have side effects. In one study of patients with chronic pelvic pain, using a pelvic wand showed to significantly improve pelvic pain, with some patients being able to stop taking medications for pain altogether (Anderson, 2015).
Since treating pelvic pain and overactive pelvic floor muscles is complex, it is recommended to see a pelvic floor physical therapist to learn how to use it (Anderson, 2011). A pelvic floor physical therapist can help you learn to control your pelvic floor muscles to contract and relax them at the proper times.
Your therapist can also teach you other ways to help relax the pelvic floor muscles like stretches. They can help to address other areas of the body that can play a role in pelvic pain, like the low back and hips.
You can ask your doctor for a referral to a pelvic floor physical therapist near you, or you can find one on myPFM.com under “Find a PT,” we have links to 4 databases.
To learn more about your pelvic floor muscles, check out these great resources:
Subscribe monthly to access our video courses on demand at Pelvic Flicks
Check out our favorite pelvic wands on Amazon
Watch our free YouTube playlist Pelvic Pain and Your Pelvic Floor
Sign up for our email newsletter!
For providers, check our online courses to help your clients with nocturia and incontinence. Consider joining our Ambassador Program and most of our courses are included with your membership!
Understanding and Treating Pelvic Pain with Dr. Lauren Trosch, PT, DPT, OCS
Anxiety, Depression, and the Overactive Pelvic Floor with Dr. Jill Krapf, MD, Med, FACOG
Orthopedic Pelvic Assessment and Treatment for the Pelvic Pain Population with Dr. Kelli Wilson, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT
Written by Emily Reul, PT, DPT
References
Anderson R, Wise D, Sawyer T, Nathanson BH. Safety and effectiveness of an internal pelvic myofascial trigger point wand for urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Clin J Pain. 2011;27(9):764-8.
Anderson RU, Harvery RH, Wise D, Smith JN, Nathanson BH, Sawyer T. Chronic pelvic pain syndrome: reduction of medication use after pelvic floor physical therapy with an internal myofascial trigger point wand. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2015;40(1):45-52.