Pelvic floor therapy is a personalized treatment approach designed to address bladder, bowel, sexual health, and pelvic pain concerns through targeted muscle and movement work. This blog explains what therapy involves, how it progresses through structured phases, and what patients can realistically expect.

At Pelvic Pride, pelvic floor therapy is guided through four phases that build from assessment to full independence, helping patients restore function and return to meaningful activities. The number of sessions varies based on symptoms, goals, and consistency, but most people can expect a general range of care.

Understanding the process and committing to treatment helps patients get the most out of each session while working toward long-term symptom relief and confidence in their bodies.



If you’re reading this, pelvic floor therapy has already been put on your radar somehow. Maybe your bestie went to pelvic floor therapy postpartum and it helped in her recovery, or maybe your cousin saw a pelvic floor therapist for pelvic pain and suggested it may be helpful for you, too. Or maybe you went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out your own pelvic health symptoms to see if this whole pelvic floor therapy thing may actually have some relevance for you. No matter how you found us - you are in the right place. 

One of our top  frequently asked questions at Pelvic Pride is ‘how long is this going to take?’ and truthfully, we get it. You’re trying to spin all the plates of your daily life demands, and adding in other appointments on top of that can feel like a lot. Keep reading and we will clarify what you can expect in your pelvic floor therapy treatment plan.

What Pelvic Floor Therapy Treats

Let’s start from the beginning. At pelvic floor therapy, a specialized pelvic floor therapist will work with you to treat the muscles of the pelvic floor which support the bladder, bowel and reproductive organs. We’ll also treat surrounding muscle groups like the diaphragm, abdominals, hips, back, and even down into the legs and feet. Anything pertaining to pee, poop, sex, pelvic pain, prenatal or postpartum care, perimenopause and menopause, is in our wheelhouse! 

How Pelvic Floor Therapy Works

Pelvic floor therapy starts long before you step foot inside of the clinic. Prior to coming in for your first visit, it is important that you pick a clinic that is going to be a good fit for you. To learn more check out our blog post “How To Find A Pelvic Floor Specialist Near Me” which covers the steps to vet a pelvic therapy clinic and find one near you. 

But to really understand how pelvic floor therapy works I think it is best to understand the phases of treatment. At Pelvic Pride we work through four phases starting with figuring out what is going on and ending with your independence with movement and symptom resolution or management.

Phase 1: Figure It Out

In the first phase we start with the evaluation. This is where we will talk in depth about your health history and symptom presentation. From there we will perform hands-on and observation assessments of anything from your pelvic floor to how you transfer load in your legs and feet, to how you breath, and more. We want to make sure we spend plenty of time understanding your lived experience with your symptoms so the assessment process typically takes a few visits to gather all the data we need. Don’t worry though, we are providing treatment each session even on Day 1 to help you on the path to symptom reduction or resolution. We typically see patients weekly in this phase. 

Phase 2: Facilitate the Change

Here we will increase our implementation of treatment. This can look like changes in posture and movement, hands-on manual therapy techniques both directly and indirectly to the pelvic floor and all surrounding muscles and structures, habit retraining, breathing mechanics, re-educating the brain and body connection, and mobility and stability exercises progressions. This list is not all inclusive and we tailor each treatment session to your needs that day while working towards your ultimate goal. We typically see patients weekly in this phase. 

This transition is where the magic really starts to happen. Oftentimes we find patients feel “good enough” right at the transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3. And that is where things can go haywire. When you feel “good enough” your tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves) may not be ready to support you as you continue to increase your load. Meaning, you may have felt pretty good during that 5K but your ultimate goal is to run the Baltimore Marathon in October and your tissues don’t necessarily have the resilience yet to tolerate that increase in demand. 

Phase 3: Add Back In

At this point we are starting to add back in the movements, exercises, or demands that you have been avoiding due to your symptoms. It is vital that we test the system while keeping skillful eyes on your tissues to ensure success and not regression of symptoms. Here we will address any symptoms that may pop back in, adjust your home program as needed, and work towards independence. We typically see patients every other weekly in this phase. 

Phase 4: On Your Own

Once we have tested the system, added back in all the activities and movements that you are used to doing, it is time to see if you have the skill set to keep your symptoms at bay. Flare ups of your symptoms may occasionally occur, but our goal is that you have the tools to manage without needing weekly care. At this point we are checking in way less frequently but are only a phone call away if you need some more guided support. 

Factors That Affect Treatment Duration

Just a few of the factors going into this planning can be frequency of scheduling, individual needs and preferences, symptom severity, and more. 

• Severity of symptoms: are your symptoms very intense and debilitating, or are they more like a mild bother that intermittently reminds you of their presence? Often, increased severity of symptoms may point to someone benefitting from more therapy sessions. We find patients who are in an acute flare up benefit from seeing their therapist twice a week for 1-2 weeks to help get the symptoms down before returning to weekly visits. 
• Persistence of symptoms: have you been living with pelvic pain, bowel, or bladder issues for years on end, or are your symptoms new within the very recent past? If symptoms are longer-standing, they may require a bit more time to quiet down and establish healthier pelvic health habits moving forward. Unfortunately we cannot help undo 20 years of pain in 5 visits. But it also won’t take another 20 years to address either! 
• Your individual goals: are you coming to pelvic floor therapy to restore your baseline level of activity, or are you preparing for a major event like running a marathon or childbirth? We are huge fans of individualized treatment planning here - everyone’s goals are unique and will come with their own treatment plan which will dictate how many visits are needed. 
• Consistency with home exercise participation: are you able to carve out some time in between sessions to keep up with your home exercise program or other ‘homework,’ or is your plate simply too full to squeeze in anything else between sessions? (We know life can get in the way sometimes!) The more consistent someone is able to be with carrying over their exercises in between sessions, the more steady progress we tend to see. If you don’t have the bandwidth to do things at home, no worries, just keep in mind we will be doing a lot in our time together so we may need more sessions to reach your goals. 

With all of that said….everyone’s treatment plan is going to look different based on their symptoms, health history, goals, and availability of time and energy to tend to their goals and therapy program.

Signs You May Need More Sessions

While you are working through pelvic floor therapy, it is important to monitor for these sights that you may need more session: 

• Your symptoms are improving but not fully resolved (see that magical transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3 above!)
• Your symptoms come back when you stop your pelvic therapy exercises or self-treatment techniques
• You are unsure if you are doing your exercises correctly
• Your goals aren’t met yet. We want to ensure we are reaching your ultimate goal so as long as we are making progress forward, you may need a few more sessions to reach the finish line. 
• Life or body changes pop up. Maybe you became pregnant, have delivered, received a new diagnosis, or some other big change that signifies continued treatment is needed.

What Happens During Each Visit

At the start of each session, you and your therapist will touch base on how you’re feeling that day, any changes or new developments since the previous session, and get clear on any specific priorities you may have for that day’s session. 

From there, treatment will be tailored to the information shared at the beginning of the visit while working towards your therapy goals. Within the session we may review and/or build on your home exercises and self-treatment tool kit as well as continue our skilled hands-on care including manual therapy to the external muscles and/or internal pelvic floor muscles. 

At the end of the session we will review what we found, the progress made, the plan for the next session and what you should focus on until we meet again.