A myofeedback examination is a painless examination where the therapist gets provided AND provides you with information about the shape of your pelvic floor muscles. Myofeedback literally means a feedback from your pelvic floor muscles. A myofeedback examination is being done with a probe, which is being inserted anally or vaginally. The probe gives the therapist an indication of the strength of your pelvic bottom muscles. Because of that, a myofeedback can also be a confirming examination. If the therapist already has an idea of your pelvic floor muscle strength, then the myofeedback examination can support their suspicions. You can sit or lay in different positions during this examination, it depends on what is most comfortable for you.
Different types of examinations are possible for your pelvic issues. This also depends on what kind of pelvic issues you have. If you experience issues concerning your pelvic floor muscles in or around the vagina, or you have issues in or around the anus, a myofeedback examination might be very valuable to you. Some issues are; having trouble keeping in stool or urine, problems with letting your stools and urine go, or sexual issues. Myofeedback examination is the way to get information from your pelvic floor muscles. A myofeedback examination shows exactly what the pelvic floor muscles are doing during certain actions. Like that the therapist can see where your issues come from.
In this article, we are going to talk about an examination which you could get when you’re experiencing pelvic pain. The so called myofeedback examination. This examination is applicable to men and women, and it’s for all ages. Let’s find out about the myofeedback examination together.
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What is a myofeedback examination?
A myofeedback examination provides a therapist with information coming from your pelvic floor muscles. Like I said earlier, myofeedback literally means feedback from your pelvic floor muscles. With this a therapist can see what’s the matter with your pelvic floor muscles. A myofeedback examination measures the strength in your pelvic floor, so to speak. This examination is being done with a probe. This is either being inserted anally, or vaginally. In general, this is painless, but if this isn’t the case, let your therapist know.
The inserted probe will look for electric signals. Every muscle gives off these signals. The probe will try to catch signals from the pelvic floor muscles. The more signals the probe gets, the more strength is present in the pelvic floor muscles. It’s a good tool to measure the strength and the activity in the pelvic floor muscles (the pelvic floor muscles at the bottom of the pelvic girdle, around or in the anus or vagina). You can catch sounds during a myofeedback examination as well. Signals and sounds give a good indication of the activity in your pelvic floor muscles.
When is a myofeedback examination being done?
A myofeedback examination is mainly being done as a supporting examination. The pelvic physical therapist or doctor already knows bits and things about your issues. Very often, you already have gone for a few examinations or an intake (anamnesis) before the myofeedback takes place. The pelvic physical therapist, pelvic exercise therapist, or specialized doctor often chooses to do a myofeedback examination to confirm their suspicions. You probably already have told them about your pelvic issues, for example: urinal incontinence, fecal incontinence, obstipation or sexual issues. This can point towards a prolapse or an overloaded pelvic floor area. Going off on your issues, the specialist can decide to do a myofeedback examination. With that, the specialist will exactly know what your issues are. The pelvic physical therapist or specialist can also see which pelvic floor muscles are prolapsed or overloaded, and on what level. To sum it all up, a myofeedback examination can be done for confirmation when you’re experiencing issues like urine incontinence, fecal incontinence, obstipation, or sexual issues. It could be that other suspicions regarding a prolapse or overload of the pelvic floor muscles can be a reason for this examination as well.
Who can undergo a myofeedback examination?
A myofeedback examination can be performed on younger and older men and women. You could have to do with a myofeedback examination at different points of your life. For example, a myofeedback examination can already be performed on young, pregnant women or women with pelvic issues, pelvic instability, or pelvic pain, but who already have given birth. Also women who aren’t directly in touch with a pregnancy anymore but could still have developed pelvic issues later in life. Men can get a myofeedback examination as well if they experience issues like urine incontinence, fecal incontinence, obstipation, or sexual issues. These issues are valid for women too. So to shortly put it: young women with pelvic issues during or after pregnancy, and ladies and gentlemen with pelvic issues, urine incontinence, fecal incontinence, obstipation, or sexual issues.
Who can perform a myofeedback examination?
A myofeedback examination is usually being performed by a pelvic physical therapist, a pelvic exercise therapist, or a specialized doctor; a gynecologist, urologist, or other specialists. Though almost every examination is being done by a therapist. A myofeedback examination is often being done in the office of a pelvic physical therapist. These are private rooms that can be closed off, so you could do this examination with your own pelvic physical therapist in a comfortable manner. If you have a preference about if a man or a woman performs this examination, do tell your pelvic physical therapist. I’m sure they have a colleague at hand who could do this examination with you.
Myofeedback examination requires the use of a probe
During this examination, the therapist will work with a probe. A probe is a kind of tracker. For the ladies among us, the probe gets vaginally inserted if there are sexual, urinal, or prolapse issues preset. A probe isn’t always being inserted, not when you’re menstruating, for example. Another option is an anal probe. With men, this is the only way. This probe is being used when there are some fecal issues. Just like vaginally, an anal probe isn’t always being inserted either. Do keep in mind that this most likely isn’t the case. Bringing in the probe will give the best results during the examination.
What is being done with my information after a myofeedback examination?
A lot of information is gathered during a myofeedback examination. This is information about the muscle strength and the general activity of the pelvic floor muscles in your pelvic girdle. The examination is also a good way to see what your pelvic floor muscles can do. It isn’t only a way to examine you, but it’s a way to treat you as well. On the screen you can directly see if you tighten or release your pelvic floor muscles, and for how long you can do either action.
If all these details are known, the treatment can be focused on the matters that are important for you. Everyone is different, for example one person has to train and strengthen their pelvic floor muscles to fight urinal incontinence, and the other has to learn how to relax their pelvic floor because it’s way too tense. You can develop infections in the bladder when your pelvic floor is too tense. This means that you can’t properly use your urine, which in terms means that urine gets left behind in the bladder. A tense or overactive pelvic floor can also cause a narrowed vagina, for example vaginism. This means that there are issues with inserting a finger, tampon, penis, or other objects, because the pelvic floor area is too tense. With people experiencing those issues, the focus will be on learning how to relax.
Lastly, nobody else but your therapist has insight on those details, so don’t worry about your privacy. You will be asked for permission if the therapist wishes to share your details with another doctor or specialist. If you have any objections to sharing your examination results, let them know what you want done with your information.
What happens with the used probe after the myofeedback examination?
A probe that was used for you will be thoroughly, medically cleaned. You can also purchase your own probe. This doesn’t mean that you can reuse your probe without cleaning it properly, it is important to follow the instructions provided to ensure everyone’s hygiene. The costs of a probe are between the 50 and 100 dollars, depending on the website you can order it from. These can be reused after a proper cleaning, so do read the included instructions.
Insurance wise, the myofeedback examinations are often covered by private and government insurances, but do check this to be sure. The same goes for purchasing your own probe. It is unsure of the insurance actually covers this, so do properly inform yourself before making a purchase.
Has this mini myofeedback guide helped you?
Hopefully you were able to inform yourself more about the myofeedback examinations. These were the points I was wondering about anyway. Should you still have questions, I’m sure your therapist can help you as well. Is it still unclear to you despite this explanation and your therapist’s explanation? Then maybe it’s an idea to look for a pelvic physical therapist that can make time for you. Time is really important when it comes to intimate issues like this. Do make sure you feel at ease with your therapist.
And lastly, are you looking for more information?
Hopefully this information was useful to you! We’ve talked about the myofeedback examination, what it is, who can get one, who can do one, and what happens with the details after the examination. If you’re still looking for some more information, feel free to take another look around on the website. It’s filled with in-depth information, tips a webshop and also exercises. I still have a lot of articles with lots of information about other symptoms and issues. Feel free to click on the blue words to take you straight to the right page.
