FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We’re located at 700 Commerce Drive #130 in Woodbury, Minnesota! While our physical location is in Woodbury, we see patients from all over, including Lake Elmo, Stillwater, Hudson, Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Oakdale, Mahtomedi, White Bear Lake, Cottage Grove, and more!

If you struggle with pelvic floor dysfunction, pain, discomfort, other chronic conditions, or are simply seeking to optimize your pelvic health… We can help you! Our Doctors of Physical Therapy have specialty training in evaluating and treating pelvic health conditions in all genders. At Awake Pelvic Health, your treatment will go beyond just symptom resolution, as we take a deep dive into the WHY behind what is happening. You will receive education, tools, and strategies to maintain long-term healing.

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialization of physical therapy that addresses issues that arise within the pelvic floor musculature and pelvic region of the body. These issues often lead to bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction as well as other orthopedic conditions such as low back, hip and abdominal pain. Because this is a complex part of the body and the pelvic floor muscles are influenced by the majority of the other parts of the body as well as global movement patterns, a pelvic floor therapist is trained to evaluate and treat in a holistic way that addresses these other influences and looks at the whole person.

Pelvic floor therapy can include as much or as little as you desire, and your treatment plan is fully tailored to what your body needs. Typically we utilize techniques such as external manual therapy, internal manual therapy (although helpful, internal work is not necessary, and is only done with your consent), and personalized exercises and education to reach your goals.

All visits are a full hour in length, 1:1 with your pelvic floor specialist, during which you’ll work collaboratively towards your goals. We highly value your time, and want you to feel your best, so you’ll have our undivided attention for the entire hour.

Your first visit is your initial evaluation - at the beginning of the visit, you and your physical therapist will spend time discussing your history, your biggest bothers and joys, and what your goals for pelvic floor therapy are. We want to get to know you!

We will then take a look at your strength, mobility, balance, posture, and how you move while doing daily tasks. With your consent, we may also perform a pelvic floor assessment. The body works as a system, so we make sure to assess your whole body, instead of isolating only one area of it.

Throughout the visit we share information about the pelvic floor, answer any questions you may have, and discuss our recommendations. You’ll also get started on treatment, and walk away from the visit with an action plan for your care.

This varies person to person, so it depends on your body and needs in particular. Generally speaking, the sooner you seek assistance for your pelvic floor concern, the less time you spend in therapy. Most often you’ll start by coming in once per week, tapering down the frequency of your visits as you make progress toward your goals. However, you’ll have the opportunity to talk about your individualized plan with your provider during your initial appointment.

If you already have one, feel free to bring with you to your first session or email it to us at info@awakepelvichealth.com.

No referral? No problem. Minnesota has "Direct Access" Physical Therapy. MN allows licensed physical therapists to provide direct physical therapy evaluation and treatment services for up to 90 consecutive days without obtaining a referral/prescription from a physician or other healthcare provider. Our admin team will obtain any necessary referral on your behalf with no work on your end!

This is a great question. There are so many benefits to seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist during pregnancy rather than waiting until postpartum. It can reduce the likelihood and severity of certain common postpartum symptoms like perineal tearing, urinary incontinence, and diastasis recti.

If you are having pain, bladder, bowel or sexual symptoms you can begin PT at any point during pregnancy. If you are feeling well and interested in learning what you can do to support your changing body throughout pregnancy, we typically recommend you come in during the second trimester when you start to feel like your body is changing so we can discuss exercise modifications and training for pregnancy, birth and postpartum recovery.

At Awake Pelvic Health, we offer a special “Birth Prep & Push Prep” visit to help you prepare and optimize your body for labor and delivery. For more information on this service, call us at 651-432-0250.

<24 hours: $85 fee will be charged.

<2 hours: the full visit fee will be charged.

Monday appointments: Cancellations must be made by Noon on the Friday prior to your scheduled appointments.

Why We Have This Policy:

Our policy honors the both the time of patients on our waitlist as well as our physical therapists. When we have a late cancellation we are unable to fill that spot with another patient. Additionally, our therapists plan for each patient session ahead of time so that we can provide the best care. We do allow you to switch to a virtual visit instead of cancelling.

Yes! We highly recommend that our patients come in for their visit, even while menstruating. We can still complete a pelvic floor exam and focus on valuable internal or external manual therapies and body treatments.

You are welcome to wear whatever you would like. It is ideal if you wear clothing that stretches a little and that you are comfortable moving in.