Bowel Health
Healthy bowel function usually doesn’t make the gratitude list…
until it becomes a problem!
Physical therapy can improve fecal incontinence, bowel urgency, stool consistency and bowel motility. I can also help posterior wall prolapse (where the rectum lives), constipation, and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Conservative treatment is often more effective and affordable than surgery & medication, and definitely more empowering!
Treatment for:
Constipation
Incomplete evacuation
Fecal Incontinence (leakage or smearing)
Fecal urgency
Rectal & abdominal pain
Pelvic organ prolapse -rectocele
Anal fissures
Hemorrhoids
bowel faqs:
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Prior to your first visit, you will receive important paper work that will help Susannah understand your situation and make your evaluation more efficient. Susannah likes to spend the first 15 or 20 minutes of your session listening to you. She will ask many questions which will help her determine what to include in the initial evaluation tests. An internal assessment of the pelvic floor is sometimes very helpful, however, is always up to the comfort level of the patient. Manual treatment will start day 1 (time permitting). Before you check-out, expect a better understanding of your symptoms, and your first steps in your home program.
Follow-up appointments may include:
Baseline testing (a 3-day bladder and bowel diary can be helpful)
Education for home care and exercise progression as well as lifestyle modifications
Neuromuscular reeducation and progressive therapeutic exercise
Balloon biofeedback sensory retraining
Manual therapy; muscle energy techniques, myofascial release, strain counterstrain, joint and soft tissue mobilization and visceral mobilization
Dry needling
Incorporating principles of brain-pain neuroscience
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So much!
I have been a pelvic PT since 2008. I wanted to be ‘the best’ at what I do, so in 2011 I served as Duke University and Medical Center’s Women’s Health Resident. In 2013 I passed my boards to become an APTA credentialed Women’s Clinical Specialist (WCS); I think I was #144 in the country!
In 2014, I began teaching PF2A for Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute (this is the course medical and rehab practitioners take to learn about conservative treatment for bowel disorders/dysfunction).
As an educator, I knew how challenging it can be to transfer knowledge from a 3-day course in the classroom to evaluating and treating patients, so, in order to improve patient care for the masses, I created a collection of patient education handouts called ‘The Bowel Bundle’ for pelvic rehab providers to use in the clinic; these resources are streamlining and elevating patient care for pelvic conditions as practitioners use them around the globe!
It’s been a fun venture thus far and I am SO pleased to offer expert and direct patient care to my community in Asheville, NC!
