Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Washington, DC
Get back to the runs, lifts, and moments you’ve been working around. Private one-on-one sessions at our convenient Downtown DC location.
Leaking when you sneeze, mapping every bathroom on your route, pain with intimacy, pressure when you lift: these are common, but they are not something you have to live with. Pelvic floor physical therapy is an effective, non-invasive treatment for most patients.
Symptoms and conditions pelvic floor therapy can help with
Sound familiar? You don’t need a diagnosis to start. If you already have one, you’ll find it here too.
Bladder
- “I pee a little when I sneeze, jump, or run.”
- “When I have to go, I have to go right now.”
- “I can’t get through a workout without a bathroom.”
- “I have to push or strain to empty my bladder.”
Urinary incontinence often comes down to coordination and how your body manages pressure, not just weak muscles.
Diagnoses we treat
Stress urinary incontinence, urge incontinence and overactive bladder, painful bladder syndrome (interstitial cystitis), incomplete bladder emptying
Bowel
- Constipation, straining, or never feeling fully empty
- Urgency or leakage during runs, travel, or long days out
Constipation and bowel leakage often happen when the pelvic floor muscles have trouble relaxing and coordinating when they need to.
Diagnoses we treat
Fecal incontinence, constipation and dyssynergic defecation, rectal hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity
Pelvic pain and painful sex
- Pain with intercourse or intimacy
- Tailbone, hip, or low back pain that hasn’t responded to other treatment
- Pain with sitting, cycling, or exercise
Pelvic pain and painful sex often involve muscles that are holding tension and have trouble letting go.
Diagnoses we treat
Dyspareunia, vaginismus, pudendal neuralgia, coccyx (tailbone) pain, pelvic pain with endometriosis or PCOS, chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome
Pressure or prolapse
- “It feels like something is falling out.”
- Heaviness or dragging that gets worse with standing, lifting, or exercise
Prolapse symptoms can get worse with straining and with how you handle pressure when you lift.
Diagnoses we treat
Pelvic organ prolapse, including bladder, uterine, and rectal prolapse
Pregnancy and postpartum
- Pelvic girdle pain and preparing for labor and birth
- Rebuilding your core after birth
- Getting back to running, lifting, or Pilates
Pregnancy and birth change how your core and pelvic floor work together, so postpartum recovery deserves its own plan.
Diagnoses we treat
Diastasis recti, pelvic girdle pain, perineal and cesarean scar recovery
Before and after surgery
- Preparing your body for a planned surgery
- Leakage after prostate surgery
- Rebuilding strength after an abdominal procedure
Abdominal surgery goes through several layers of tissue, and rehab is rarely prescribed afterward.
Procedures we support
Prostatectomy, hysterectomy, cesarean, endometriosis excision, vestibulectomy, vaginoplasty, hernia repair, and other abdominal surgery
If you saw yourself in more than one of these, that’s normal. They are often connected.
Our “nose-to-toes” approach to pelvic floor physical therapy
Most patients arrive thinking they have several separate problems: a bladder issue, a cranky hip, a tailbone that hurts when they sit. Often they’re pieces of the same picture.
Your pelvic floor doesn’t work alone. That is why care here looks at your whole body, not just at one muscle group.
It’s also why the answer isn’t always “do more Kegels.”
Breathing
How you breathe, at rest and under effort.
Hips and spine
How your hips, spine, and trunk move and support you.
Pressure
How you manage pressure when you lift, jump, or run.
Daily habits
The routines you’ve never thought twice about.
What life after pelvic floor therapy can look like
These are real outcomes from Blake’s patients.
A marathon finish
A runner with bowel urgency and leakage completed the Marine Corps Marathon without symptoms.
Intimacy without pain
A patient was able to have sex without pain for the first time.
An answer at last
A patient with a long history of chronic UTIs came to understand how they related to her pelvic floor pain.
A way back to exercise
A patient with severe diastasis recti worked her way back toward training.
Your goal might be hiking without scouting bathrooms, lifting without pressure, or picking up your kids without bracing.
Meet your pelvic floor physical therapist
Blake Cooper
PT, DPT, CAPP-Pelvic
Her message to patients is simple: there is hope, and there are options.
Blake combines evidence-based pelvic health physical therapy with orthopedic rehabilitation and Pilates-informed movement. As a comprehensively trained Polestar Pilates practitioner, she uses movement to help you carry progress from the treatment room into your workouts and daily life.
Her job is to help you understand your body and build the plan. You do the work, and the results are yours.
Your first pelvic floor therapy visit: you’re in the driver’s seat
It’s normal to feel unsure about what a pelvic floor appointment involves. Here is what to expect.
We talk first
Your visit is one-on-one with Blake in a private treatment room. She’ll ask about your symptoms, your history, and what you want to get back to.
You’ll see how it works
Blake uses a pelvic model to show you what the pelvic floor is, what it does, and how it relates to what you’re feeling.
We look at how you move
Breathing, posture, hip and trunk mobility, strength, and movement patterns all provide useful information.
An internal exam is always your choice
It can be helpful, but it is never required, it doesn’t have to happen on the first visit, and you can say no at any time.
You leave with a plan
You’ll know what is going on and what your next steps are.
How pelvic floor therapy works at The PHYT Collective
Your plan is built around your goals. Some people need strength. Others need to learn to relax muscles that never switch off, or to improve coordination, mobility, or pressure management.
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a first-line, conservative treatment for many people with urinary incontinence.
Pilates-based rehabilitation
Strength, coordination, and control that carry over to real life.
Manual therapy
For muscle, joint, and soft tissue restrictions.
Biofeedback
See and improve how your pelvic floor muscles are working.
Myofascial decompression (cupping)
Used when appropriate.
Education and habit changes
So you can manage symptoms on your own for the long term.
Pelvic floor physical therapy FAQs
What is pelvic floor physical therapy?
It addresses problems with the muscles, connective tissue, and coordination of the pelvic floor. These can affect bladder and bowel function, sexual health, pelvic pain, pregnancy recovery, and physical activity.
Do I need pelvic floor PT if I’m not pregnant or postpartum?
Yes. It helps people of all genders and ages with leakage, pelvic pain, painful intercourse, constipation, prolapse symptoms, and recovery after surgery.
Is it normal to pee when I sneeze, cough, jump, or run?
It’s common, but it isn’t something you have to accept. Blake will assess what is contributing and help you improve strength, coordination, pressure management, and tolerance for impact.
Do I just need to do more Kegels?
Not necessarily. Some people benefit from strengthening. Others need relaxation, coordination, mobility, or better breathing and pressure management.
Does pelvic floor PT involve an internal exam?
Not always. An internal exam can provide useful information, but it is always explained first and is never mandatory. Treatment can begin with external assessment, education, and movement.
Is pelvic floor PT for men, too?
Yes. Men come in for leakage after prostate surgery, urgency or frequency, constipation, pelvic pain, and pain with sexual activity. Care is tailored to your symptoms, anatomy, and goals.
Can I bring my baby or a support person?
Yes to both.
Do you take insurance?
The PHYT Collective does not accept insurance, and payment is due at the time of service. We offer courtesy billing, which means we can submit your superbills to your insurer for you. Learn how it works
Start pelvic floor therapy in Washington, DC
You don’t have to keep working around it.
Your symptoms deserve attention, and you have options. The first step is a conversation.