Pelvic Floor Therapy
Welcome to Summus Rehabilitation, a physical therapy clinic focusing on pelvic floor physical therapy. We are a clinic built on compassion, expertise, and respect. Located in Lakewood, just west of Denver, we specialize in pelvic health physical therapy for all people, bodies, and life stages. Whether you’re navigating pelvic pain, bladder or bowel concerns, pregnancy or postpartum recovery, or changes after surgery, you deserve care that listens first and treats you as a whole person—not just a diagnosis.
Our approach is trauma-informed, evidence-based, and deeply collaborative. We take the time to understand your goals, your lived experience, and what feels right for your body. In a supportive, judgment-free space, we work with you to restore function, confidence, and connection—so you can move through life with greater ease and trust in your body.
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a highly specialized type of physical therapy that focuses on evaluating the pelvic floor muscles, the low back, pelvis, and hips to understand the root cause of your symptoms. The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles at the bottom of the pelvis that support all of your organs and participate in bladder, bowel, and sexual function. These muscles are just like any other muscle in the body and may become less coordinated, weak, or overactive (tight) resulting in symptoms such as urinary leakage and/or frequency, constipation, stool leakage, and/or pelvic pain. Pelvic floor physical therapy will empower you about the pelvic floor and pelvis and teach you how to coordinate these muscles to resolve your issues and prevent them from returning.
What Is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
What Conditions Pelvic Floor Therapy Can Treat
Pelvic floor therapy is often the first line of defense for several diagnoses and is highly successful. Pelvic floor physical therapy can treat:
This includes endometriosis, adenomyosis and pain in the abdomen or pain with intimacy, penetration, prostatitis, vulvodynia, or vestibulodynia.
Pelvic Pain
These issues may be urinary leakage, frequency, or urgency. Pain with urination in absence of an infection, hesitation with urination, or difficulty emptying your bladder completely. We treat urinary issues in children and adults.
Urinary Issues
Pelvic pressure can be a sign of an overactive or tight pelvic floor or may be due to bladder, uterus, or rectal prolapse. Prolapse occurs when the pelvic organs may descend or drop down placing pressure on the vagina and pelvic floor.
Pelvic Pressure
These issues may look like constipation, straining or pain with bowel movements, stool leakage, or symptoms associated with IBS, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn’s disease. We treat bowel issues in children and adults.
Bowel Issues
This may look like pain with penetration, orgasm, erection, or external stimulation.
Pain with Intercourse
It is possible that low back, hip pain, and abdominal pain can be pelvic floor referred pain or that the pain is linked to pelvic floor dysfunction because of the relationship of the pelvic floor with the deep core musculature and attachments onto the hip.
Low Back, Hip, or Abdominal Pain
Symptoms may be low back pain, pubic symphysis pain, sciatic or piriformis symptoms, and pelvic pain. We also see patients who are pregnant without any symptoms for birth preparation and preventative therapy throughout pregnancy.
Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Symptoms
We believe everyone should have a postpartum evaluation regardless of issues to return to exercise and daily life safely and to prevent pelvic floor issues from surfacing in the future. Issues postpartum may include urinary issues, bowel issues, scar tissue from tearing or a c-section, diastasis rectus abdominis, and pelvic pressure.
Postpartum Recovery Issues
Pelvic Floor Therapy During Pregnancy
At Summus, we treat a wide range of pregnancy-related concerns, including urinary leakage, constipation, pelvic pressure, and pain. While these symptoms are common during pregnancy, they are not normal and deserve care. We go beyond symptom management by taking time to understand your goals for pregnancy and birth. Together, we review birthing positions with you and your birth partner, discuss ways to make your birth space more comfortable, explore pain-management techniques, and help you prepare questions for your provider. We perform a full pelvic floor muscle assessment and teach coordination for daily life, breathing, and pushing during birth—skills that take practice. We’re here to support you throughout pregnancy and into postpartum.
Postpartum physical therapy at Summus Rehabilitation is a supportive, individualized way to help you reconnect with your body and return to the activities you love after birth. We begin with a comprehensive intake to understand your birth story, goals, and what brings you to our clinic. From there, we perform a full-body assessment including strength, range of motion, and mobility, followed by a pelvic floor assessment. Throughout care, you’ll learn how to coordinate your pelvic floor muscles, strengthen your deep core, and retrain functional movements such as lifting, squatting, and carrying. As healing progresses, therapy can also support a safe and confident return to full activity—including running. At Summus, we believe all postpartum people benefit from a pelvic floor exam, even without symptoms, to address current concerns and help prevent future issues. You deserve thoughtful care during this season of life.
Postpartum Pelvic Floor Therapy
Pelvic Floor Therapy for Bladder and Bowel Control
Pelvic floor therapy for bladder and bowel control restores coordination, strength, and confidence in your pelvic floor muscles and has high success rates. These muscles play a key role in managing urinary and bowel function, and when they aren’t working efficiently, symptoms like leakage, urgency, constipation, or incomplete emptying can occur. Pelvic floor physical therapy begins with a thorough assessment to understand your symptoms, goals and root cause of your symptoms. Treatment includes muscle retraining, coordination with breathing, core strengthening, and education on healthy bladder and bowel habits. With individualized, compassionate care, pelvic floor therapy at Summus can help you regain control, reduce symptoms, and feel more comfortable and confident in your daily life.
What to Expect During Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
At Summus, we take great pride in providing exceptional pelvic floor physical therapy in a supportive, inclusive environment. Your first visit begins with a detailed conversation about your symptoms, medical history, lifestyle, and goals so we can understand you as a whole person—not just a diagnosis. The physical assessment looks at movement patterns, strength, range of motion, posture, and mobility of the spine, pelvis, hips, knees, and feet. Either during the first visit or a follow-up, your therapist may recommend a pelvic floor muscle assessment. Internal exams, performed vaginally or rectally, are never required and are always discussed beforehand. External pelvic floor assessments are also available and effective. Treatment includes education on bladder and bowel habits, pelvic floor and core coordination, and integrating these skills into functional movement. Sessions are private, collaborative, and paced to your comfort, with the goal of supporting long-term pelvic health.
Is Pelvic Floor Therapy Painful or Uncomfortable?
Our goal is to make pelvic floor therapy as comfortable as possible. Pelvic floor muscles are like any other muscle in the body and can develop trigger points that may feel uncomfortable when treated. Because of this, some assessments or techniques may cause mild, temporary discomfort. Pelvic floor therapy should never feel sharp, overwhelming, or unsafe. Your physical therapist will always explain each step, ask for your consent, and stop treatment at any time if you request it. You are always in control of your body. With time, people experience less pain and greater ease as the muscles learn to relax, coordinate, and strengthen appropriately.
Why Choose Summus Rehabilitation for Pelvic Health Therapy
At Summus, we understand that pelvic floor therapy can feel intimidating, and you don’t have to navigate it alone. Our goal is to educate and empower you, giving you the tools and confidence to understand what’s happening in your body, how to address it, and how to prevent symptoms from returning. We take the time to truly listen, create a treatment plan with you, and partner alongside you in achieving lasting relief. By looking at you as a whole person and considering how daily life impacts your symptoms, we integrate approaches like manual therapy, gait training, and functional movement to support meaningful, sustainable improvements in your pelvic health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—pelvic floor therapy works, and it’s strongly supported by research and clinical outcomes. For many people, it’s the first-line treatment for issues like urinary or bowel leakage, pelvic pain, prolapse symptoms, and postpartum or post-surgical recovery.
Does Pelvic Floor Therapy Work?
At Summus our goal is to get you better as quickly as possible. This usually entails a 90 minute evaluation followed up with weekly 50 minute sessions. Treatment plans can range from 4 session total or more depending on the complexity and severity of symptoms.
How Many Sessions Do I Need?
At Summus we believe in one on one care for our patients with treatment times ranging from 90 minutes for an evaluation or 60 minutes. As a result, we collect payment at the time of the visit and do not bill insurance directly (unless you are a Medicare beneficiary). We can provide a superbill for you to submit to insurance for out of network benefits.
Is Pelvic Floor Therapy Covered by Insurance?
Yes! It is never too late and you are never too old to have a pelvic floor muscle assessment and resolve your symptoms.
Can Pelvic Floor Therapy Help Years After Childbirth?
At Summus, you do not need a referral from your provider. We are trained to differentiate when your symptoms are outside of our scope of practice. IF however, you are a Medicare beneficiary, you will need a referral from your provider.
Do I Need a Referral?
Start Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Denver
If you’re experiencing pelvic floor symptoms and are curious about how to address them, we invite you to reach out to us below. We’re always happy to have a conversation and help you decide whether our approach feels like the right fit for you. We know these symptoms can feel confusing, personal, or even embarrassing. Our team is here to guide you through the process with clarity, empathy, and ease. We truly look forward to meeting and working with you.