Raising children is no easy feat, it takes a lot of effort, resources, and time sometimes we do get it right and at times we don’t. that being said, the highs and lows of parenthood are like a roller coaster ride, but it is when we are beset with problems that we become the most anxious and stressed. There are so many books written about parenting and how to do it right, but the experience will tell you that not everything in the book is as easy as real life. One such aspect is potty training, everyone tells you that you need to do it and that as soon as the child gets the hang of it, everything else will follow. Unfortunately, nothing is further from the truth. Getting a child to urinate and move their bowels at a specific time at will is like wishing that you have won the lotto. There are even supposedly fool-proof methods to potty train your young child but what no one tells you is that sometimes it will work and most of the time it will not. As children grow older, they learn to hold their urine and poop better, but it does not mean that this is the best for them. It has now been established that holding urine for long periods is disastrous for the bladder and pelvic floor muscles. The bladder is designed to hold urine but it should be emptied fully each time, but when children learn bad potty habits like holding urinating for far too long or doing it improperly, then this can lead to incontinence. The same is true for bowel movement, children should be able to poop at least once a day and any less than three per week is a cause for concern. Not having bowel movements regularly will result in constipation which makes it all the more painful and hence makes the child less likely to go to the toilet. As a parent, you want to make sure that your child is healthy, active, nourished, and will be able to enjoy their life. But having incontinence, frequent bedwetting, and constipation take all that away. The most effective solution to the problem is pediatric pelvic floor therapy which can only be carried out by certified and trained physical therapists in a specialist clinic.
What is Pediatric Pelvic Floor Therapy?
Pediatric pelvic floor therapy is a treatment developed in providing relief to the irregular urinating and bowel movements of young children. It is a given that young children will have to learn how to control their bladder and bowels but if they have done that but are still experiencing bedwetting at night and constipation all the time, then it is a problem that needs to be addressed. On the other hand, it is very rarely that bedwetting and constipation are caused by a medical issue, and thus pelvic floor therapy is an appropriate treatment as it does not require any medication or medical procedure. Children learn fast, and when it comes to their little bodies, they may not always know if what they are learning is good or bad for them. Moreover, children nowadays are too busy, they have a lot of activities and their attention is more focused on other things. Thus, they might be learning to hold their urine or bowels because they do not want to be interrupted and when they do this, they are no longer able to listen to their bodies and heed its call. This then leads to a cycle of holding and pushing which toughens the sphincter in the bladder and colon and makes it even harder to pass urine or feces. What pelvic floor therapy does is train the pelvic floor muscles to relax, elongate, and bulge to help the bladder and bowel move better thereby emptying all of it when they go to the toilet.
The therapy involves the use of a biofeedback machine that is attached to the child on two external terminals, the machine provides auditory and visual stimuli that will teach the child how to do exercises on his/her pelvic floor muscles. The whole session is recorded to track the changes that the muscles undergo as the child can strengthen his/her pelvic floor. The treatment aims to provide immediate results, the more sessions you have, the more the child can develop his/her control of the pelvic floor muscles, and the better it will be in the long run.
How to Find Pediatric Pelvic Floor Therapy?
Since pediatric pelvic floor therapy is a relatively new treatment, there are still a handful of physical therapists that can perform it. however, a quick search in your web browser will tell you where to find them, the websites of each clinic contain their contact information and all the services that they offer. You can even make an appointment using the website facility and just be sure to confirm your appointment by calling their clinic. On the off-chance that there is no clinic or physical therapist near you, you have to decide whether to find the nearest one or wait until they are available in your area. If you can still find ways to cope with the irregular potty behavior and if there is no option near you then finding alternative ways could be the only choice. But for those who have access to the clinic, it is best to have your child checked as soon as possible. Children who have not yet toughened their sphincters by holding their urine and bowels all the time will be corrected with the therapy a lot faster than others. If you wait for a long time before bringing your child to the clinic it may come to a point when it would take more time and sessions to see the results that you want. Once you are done with the consultation, the therapists will tell you whether your child will need the pelvic floor therapy or not, and how often will you have the sessions. Even if you see positive results a couple of times you had the therapy sessions, it is best to complete the whole treatment program.
