This is a great blog post by Liz Rummer, a wonderful pelvic pain PT at the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco:
Many PTs use either biofeedback or e-stim as part of their protocol for treating pelvic pain. Indeed, a google search of either term will bring up a slew of pelvic floor PT websites boasting the benefits of both treatments. Meanwhile, based on feedback we’ve received from our patients and the PTs taking our class, I believe there’s a good deal of confusion surrounding these two treatment methods, and that some PTs are misusing them.
It seems that biofeedback, e-stim or both are in some instances being used as part of cookie-cutter treatment plans with little thought given to whether they’re appropriate. The major concern with this is that in certain circumstances, misusing biofeedback and or e-stim may not only be ineffective, it can actually cause a patient’s condition to worsen.
So what’s the deal with biofeedback and e-stim? When are they appropriate for pelvic floor PT and when are they not?
In this post, I will answer those questions, and hopefully clear up the confusion surrounding these treatment methods once and for all. Let’s begin with biofeedback.
To read the rest of the post, click here: