You Don’t Have to Just Live With It.

Pelvic health concerns are incredibly common, yet they remain one of the most underaddressed areas of healthcare. Research shows that fewer than half of people experiencing bladder or bowel symptoms ever seek help, and many wait a year or more before speaking to anyone about it. If you’ve been quietly managing symptoms that affect your comfort, confidence, or quality of life, you are not alone, and you don’t have to keep doing it alone.

At Burrard Physiotherapy, we provide compassionate, expert pelvic health physiotherapy in a safe and completely private setting. Our treatment rooms are large, fully private, and designed with your comfort and dignity in mind from the moment you walk in.

Do Any of These Sound Familiar?

• You leak urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh, jump, or exercise
• You feel sudden, urgent pressure to reach the bathroom and don’t always make it in time
• You have difficulty starting or stopping your urine stream
• You experience difficulty or discomfort with bowel movements
• You feel pain, heaviness, or pressure in your pelvic or genital area
• Your pelvic pain worsens with activities like cycling, running, or prolonged sitting
• Sex is painful or uncomfortable, or you’re experiencing decreased sensation

These symptoms are not something you simply have to accept. They are treatable, and pelvic health physiotherapy has a strong evidence base for helping people reclaim control, comfort, and confidence in their bodies.

Understanding Your Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, sometimes called the saddle muscles, that form the base of your pelvis. They connect your pubic bone, tailbone (coccyx), and sitting bones (ischial tuberosities), and they support your pelvic organs, including the bladder, urethra, rectum, and in women, the uterus and vagina.

Your pelvic floor is also a key part of your core, working in coordination with your deep abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and back muscles to provide stability to your spine and pelvis. When these muscles are not functioning well, whether they are too weak, too tight, or poorly coordinated, symptoms throughout the pelvis and lower body can follow.

Many people assume that Kegel exercises are the answer to all pelvic floor concerns. In reality, Kegels are only appropriate for some people. For others, the pelvic floor muscles are already overactive or tense, and strengthening them further can actually worsen symptoms. A proper assessment is essential before beginning any pelvic floor exercise program.

What Affects Pelvic Health?

Pelvic health is influenced by far more than just the pelvic floor muscles. A comprehensive assessment considers the full picture, including:

• Fluid and dietary habits that affect bladder urgency and frequency
• Posture and trunk muscle tension that can increase intra-abdominal pressure on the pelvis
• Joint mobility in the hips, sacrum, and lumbar spine
• Nerve sensitivity and how the nervous system is processing pain signals
• Stress and anxiety, which can heighten nervous system arousal and increase muscle tension and pain
• Hormonal factors, particularly relevant during pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and menopause
• Scar tissue from abdominal or pelvic surgeries, including C-sections and hysterectomies

Understanding how these systems interact is what allows your physiotherapist to develop a treatment plan that addresses the root cause of your symptoms, not just the surface-level experience of them.

What to Expect at Your Pelvic Health Assessment

We know that booking a pelvic health appointment takes courage, and we want you to feel completely at ease from your very first visit.

Your assessment will be conducted in one of our large, fully private treatment rooms. You will never be rushed, and nothing will happen without your full understanding and consent. Your physiotherapist will begin with a detailed conversation about your symptoms, health history, lifestyle, and personal goals before any physical assessment takes place.

The internal assessment component, if appropriate and agreed upon, is gentle and conducted with the utmost care and professionalism. Many patients tell us it was far less intimidating than they expected, and that finally understanding what is happening in their body is itself a relief.

Following your assessment, your physiotherapist will walk you through their findings and work with you to build a treatment plan aligned with your individual goals, whether that’s improving bladder or bowel control, reducing pelvic pain, returning to sport, or making intimacy comfortable again.

Meet Our Pelvic Health Physiotherapist

Lynda Lawrence is Burrard Physiotherapy’s dedicated pelvic health physiotherapist, bringing over 30 years of specialized experience to her practice. Lynda has advanced training in the assessment and treatment of:

• Urinary and bowel incontinence
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Pelvic, genital, and sexual pain
• Pregnancy and postpartum pelvic health
• Pelvic floor dysfunction in all genders

Lynda’s approach is thorough, compassionate, and entirely patient-led. Her goal is not just to reduce your symptoms but to help you fully understand your body and feel confident managing your pelvic health long-term.

Conditions Treated

Our pelvic health physiotherapy services address a wide range of concerns, including:

• Stress urinary incontinence (leaking with physical activity)
• Urge urinary incontinence and overactive bladder
• Bowel incontinence and constipation
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
• Vaginismus and vulvodynia
• Interstitial cystitis and pelvic pain syndromes
• Diastasis recti (abdominal separation) postpartum
• Tailbone (coccyx) pain
• Endometriosis-related pelvic pain
• Pre- and post-natal pelvic health support
• Post-surgical pelvic rehabilitation

No referral is required to book an appointment.

Your Privacy Is Our Priority

We understand that pelvic health is an deeply personal area of your wellbeing. At Burrard Physiotherapy, every pelvic health appointment takes place in a large, fully private treatment room. Our team is trained to create an environment where you feel respected, heard, and completely at ease discussing even the most sensitive concerns.

Many of our patients tell us that their only regret was not coming in sooner.