You might think of pelvic health as mostly having to do with pain — painful periods, pain during sex, pain when having bowel movements. Or perhaps, the emotional pain of not being fully able to control how and when you pee.
As a specialty, pelvic health does treat these problems. But we also focus on your well-being because conditions like pelvic pain, incontinence, and pelvic floor disorders can affect all areas of your life, including mental health.
Pelvic health issues aren't just a normal part of aging and can affect people at many different times in their lives. Although these issues can be hard to talk about, know that you’re not alone, and there are many treatments to help.
UPMC has gynecologists and urogynecologists across Pennsylvania who specialize in diagnosing and treating a range of pelvic health conditions. We can also connect you with physical therapists, behavioral health therapists, and specialty clinics.
Everything we do is focused on helping you live your life as symptom-free and worry-free as possible.
Pelvic health refers to the health of your reproductive organs, bladder, bowels, and the muscles supporting these organs. Broadly, it can mean everything that gynecologists cover.
But, as a specialty, pelvic health focuses strongly on problems affecting the pelvic floor, which is the support system for all the organs around your pelvis. Your pelvic floor is what keeps your bowels, bladder, uterus, vagina, and rectum in place.
Doctors who treat pelvic health problems are usually ob-gyns or urogynecologists. Pelvic health physical therapists also work hand-in-hand with these doctors to help treat people.
Pelvic health applies to everyone.
People who have given birth may have more struggles to maintain their pelvic health. Women in menopause are also more likely to have pelvic health issues.
But pelvic health includes all genders, including people who’ve never been pregnant. Health issues like chronic constipation, endometriosis, obesity, or other strains on pelvic floor muscles can all affect pelvic health.
Most people wouldn’t know how strong or weak their pelvic floor was if not for certain symptoms.
These symptoms can include:
As with most conditions, there are some factors you can control and others you can’t.
You can’t control:
But you can control some factors affecting your pelvic health, including:
Pelvic health conditions fall into some overarching categories, but you can have multiple conditions at once. Whatever issues you’re having, we can help.
The most common pelvic health problems are:
UPMC approaches treating pelvic health from many angles.
Some of our centers that treat people for pelvic health conditions include:
Our goal is to help you get back to enjoying the activities you love. You may be able to reach that goal with more conservative treatment — or surgery might ultimately be what’s best.
Changes like quitting smoking, starting an exercise program, and incorporating Kegels into your daily life can help some people improve their pelvic health.
Different types of medicines can help with pelvic floor issues, including hormone therapy, muscle-relaxing drugs, and Botox® for overactive bladder.
A pelvic floor physical therapist (PT) can work with you to design the right therapy program for your goals. It’s often a combination of stretching and strengthening.
We do different surgeries to help incontinence (like slings) and surgeries that treat pelvic organ prolapse. Many of these surgeries are outpatient.
You have choices about your care. When you trust the experts at UPMC, you have access to:
Are you interested in a video visit with one of our women's health experts? You can now see a bladder and pelvic health specialist from anywhere in Pennsylvania through UPMC virtual care.
Last reviewed by Megan S Bradley, MD on 2024-09-05.
