Incontinence Therapy in Hollywood, FL
You have done the Kegels and you are still planning your day around a bathroom, which is a coordination problem, not a discipline problem.
What is incontinence therapy?
Incontinence therapy is pelvic floor physical therapy for leaking, urinary or fecal, in women and in men. Leaking is a control problem, and control rests on three things: whether the muscles can produce force, whether they can time it, and whether they can let go afterward. Kegels only address the first. That is why so many people have done them for months without a change, and why some people feel worse doing them, because a pelvic floor that is already too tight cannot be strengthened out of the problem. Assessment sorts out which pattern you have. The plan can then run in the opposite direction from what you expected, toward release and coordination rather than more squeezing, and that is usually the reason it starts working.
Everything after that is built from the exam. Manual therapy releases tension and reaches the muscle that is not participating. Neuromuscular retraining, including biofeedback and gentle electrical stimulation, shows you what the muscle is actually doing so you can change it, which beats guessing. Targeted exercise builds pelvic floor and core endurance in the positions where you leak: standing, coughing, lifting, walking from the parking lot. Bladder and bowel habit work handles urgency, fluid timing and straining. Breath and relaxation work brings down the background tension that makes symptoms worse under stress. Visits are 30 to 60 minutes, one on one, in a private room.
Who it's for.
We treat women and men, and one of the most common reasons men come in is recovery after prostate surgery. Florida is a direct-access state, so no physician referral is needed to begin. Three of the situations we see most.
Leaking with a cough, a sneeze or a lift
You cross your legs before you sneeze. You know which exercises to avoid and which bathroom is closest at the mall. This is a timing and endurance problem: the pelvic floor is not switching on quickly enough before the pressure arrives, or it cannot hold once it does. Both are trainable, and neither improves from doing more Kegels the same way.
After prostate surgery
Leaking after a prostatectomy is common and it is treatable, and pelvic floor retraining is one of the few things you can actively do about it. The work covers coordination of the muscles that now carry continence, endurance in standing, and how to brace before you rise from a chair or lift. Biofeedback earns its place here, because the target is hard to feel at first.
Urgency, or losing bowel control
The signal arrives with no warning, or you leak on the way. Bowel leaking and soiling belong in this conversation too, and almost nobody raises them out loud. Urgency responds to bladder and bowel retraining, to down-training when the muscle is guarding rather than weak, and to changes around fluid, fiber and straining. Say it plainly at the evaluation.
What to expect in Hollywood.
The first visit is mostly history and assessment, and it still ends with treatment. Sessions run 30 to 60 minutes, one on one, with the door closed.
History that goes wider than the bladder
Your therapist asks about pregnancies and deliveries, surgeries, menopause, medications, bowel habits, fluid intake and what triggers the leaking. Chronic conditions belong in that list too. Many people are asked to keep a short bladder diary, because patterns show up on paper that memory quietly smooths over.
Assessment, internal exam included
Posture, breathing, hips and abdominal wall are checked first, then the pelvic floor itself. That may include an internal exam, similar in exposure to a gynecology visit, or rectally for men. It is explained before it happens, you consent to each part separately, and you can stop at any point without giving a reason.
Retraining, and then keeping it
Treatment starts the same day: manual work, biofeedback or stimulation where it is useful, and two or three exercises to take home. Most people begin noticing a change within a few weeks when they keep up the home program, and your therapist gives you a realistic picture of your own case at the end of the evaluation.
Gentle electrical stimulation is not used if you have a pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator, are pregnant or may be, have an active urinary or vaginal infection, unexplained bleeding, a pelvic malignancy under treatment, or reduced sensation in the area. Tell your therapist about any of those, and about recent pelvic surgery or radiation. None of it ends the plan. Manual therapy, biofeedback, exercise and bladder retraining carry the program perfectly well on their own.
I am absolutely thrilled with Dr. Leslie! She is far more than just a pelvic floor therapist, her exceptional care, extensive knowledge, and expertise have been truly transformative.
Where to go next.
Emsella Strengthening
Thousands of pelvic floor contractions per session, fully clothed and seated.
Biofeedback Therapy
See on a screen what your pelvic floor is doing, then learn to change it.
Urinary Urgency
The sudden, urgent need to go, even when your bladder is nearly empty.