Pain & Core Rehabilitation

We treat everything from that niggly SI or tailbone pain that just won’t go away, to complex chronic pain conditions like endometriosis and interstitial cystitis. We also do a lot of core rehab related to abdominal surgeries and hernias, as well as postpartum. 

Often we see clients who haven’t found success elsewhere, because the pelvic floor needs some attention too. Sometimes, looking at the pelvic floor is the magic trick that unlocks everything; sometimes, it’s a small but important part of a more complex puzzle that we can figure out together. 

Pain and rehabilitation

  • SI pain

  • Tailbone pain

  • Pubic symphysis pain

  • Diastasis rectus abdominus (ab separation)

  • Core rehabilitation after abdominal surgery

  • Hernias

What we treat

Chronic conditions

  • Endometriosis, adenomyosis, and painful periods

  • Bladder pain, urgency, and leaking from chronic painful UTIs, interstitial cystitis, or bladder pain syndrome

  • Any chronic pelvic pain concerns even if they aren’t yet diagnosed (we can help you on your diagnosis journey too!) 

For Pain and Rehabilitation:

We assess to see if and how your pelvic floor is playing into the bigger picture of your pelvic and body mechanics and whether this is contributing to your pain.

We treat and train anything we need to, both pelvic floor and big picture, and help find movement patterns and tools to keep your system working well together and pain at bay. 

Tools include manual therapy, exercise, education, movement strategies and retraining, and sometimes behavioural or habit changes. Clinical Pilates can be particularly helpful to relearn movement patterns and cross-train, especially for athletic clients.

For Chronic Conditions:

Our tools are simple, but it’s more about how and when they’re used that creates the most impact. We find that thorough exams with detailed explanations and collaborative planning are essential to start the process well. Our first goal is to achieve little wins that keep you hopeful and motivated. 

Here’s what we might use as we figure this out together:

  • Manual therapy to find some ease in the body

  • Coaching to help with your own strategies for pain relief

  • Strategies for day-to-day management and nervous system support

  • Mobility and exercise

As we make progress and the pain improves, we take the hands off the wheel and help you build autonomy and confidence in self management with flare-ups or pushing yourself to try something new!

  • "Anniken and the team at The Cheerful Pelvis are wonderful. Their vision to incorporate emotional healing with physical healing really sets their company apart. As a fellow Physiotherapist, I recognize and appreciate their expertise - I would highly recommend anyone with pelvic issues or chronic pelvic pain to get in contact with them."

    Cheerful Client

  • "Devon is a fantastic PT. She put me at ease and empowered me with knowledge to address my lower back pain. Through one session with her a learned so much more that I have with many visits to other PTs. Thank you, Devon!"

    Cheerful Client

  • "The staff at Cheerful Pelvis are wonderful! They help with the upmost professional, sensitive and compassionate ways. Sam is a great listener to hear what was concerning me most and supported me with my goals, creating a customized exercise plan to help me improve my pelvic floor and reduce pain levels. I went from daily pain levels of 7-8 to 1-2. My only wish would be, I wish I had of done it sooner. Highly recommend, Cheerful Pelvis and the good work that they do."

    Cheerful Client

  • "I highly recommend Trish to anyone looking for answers for their pelvic pain. Trish really took the time to listen to my long medical history, and to my concerns and hopes for recovery. It has been a long time since I've felt so supported or cared for by a specialist, and her communicative approach was fantastic during her examination. For the first time in a long time, I think I'm going to get better:)"

    Cheerful Client

FAQ’s

  • This is a common referral we receive, often from fellow practitioners sending clients they are stuck with. The thinking is, if nothing else is working, perhaps the culprit is the pelvic floor!

    Sometimes, the pelvic floor is involved, but it’s rare that a quick pelvic floor treatment will shift pain in isolation. Sometimes the issue is just complex and hard to treat.

    Because this is such a common referral, and there is so much chronic pain in pelvic health care, we are very experienced and skilled in treating complex and chronic pain conditions. So we can and will check your pelvic floor for any issues, but usually we need to piece our findings together in the big picture of what's happening with your whole body movement patterns, your nervous system, and your approach to movement and pain to help you improve.

  • While endometriosis itself can only be treated medically or surgically, the associated symptoms (like muscle tightness, pain, and nervous system sensitivity), which can be so impactful to your day-to-day life, can all be treated effectively with physio.

    So physio can work to improve your endo symptoms without surgery, and physio also helps optimize surgery results. Given the difficulty of navigating the healthcare system with endo, we often support clients through advocacy, referrals, and advice, too. 

  • It’s a common misconception that you need to be able to attend regular appointments or do regular home exercise for physio to be effective or worthwhile.

    Unfortunately, this belief often keeps people stuck. It’s a common aspect of our work to help you get started, and we have tools to help you get to a place where you can start moving regularly.

I want a cheerful pelvis!

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