Pelvic Floor Disorders
Choose UNC Medical Center in North Carolina to ease your pelvic pain or improve incontinence. You’ll work with experts in a comfortable environment to diagnose, treat, and prevent long-term problems to enhance your quality of life.
What’s a Pelvic Floor Disorder?
The pelvic floor is the muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that support your pelvic organs. If parts of your pelvic floor become weak or damaged, you may feel pain or discomfort, and your organs may not have the support they need to work effectively.
Expert Care
Work with board-certified urogynecologists committed to providing you with compassionate, high-quality care. Urogynecologists are doctors with advanced training in women’s pelvic floor disorders. Count on your urogynecologist to listen to your concerns and make sure you understand your treatment options.
Conditions We Treat
Turn to a urogynecologist for care of noncancerous pelvic floor conditions, including:
- Blood in urine
- Hemorrhoids
- Incontinence (urinary and fecal), such as overactive bladder
- Recurring urinary tract infections (UTI)
- Pelvic floor muscle spasms
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Urethral diverticulum (UD)
- Vaginal and colorectal dysfunction
- Vaginal fistulas
Diagnostic Services
Depend on your UNC urogynecologist to accurately diagnose your condition. Take advantage of diagnostic tests such as:
- Anorectal manometry – Examines muscles that keep stool inside your body
- Cystoscopy – Uses a small camera on the end of a thin, lighted tube to look inside your bladder
- Endorectal ultrasound – Uses high-frequency sound waves to create pictures of your rectum
- Urodynamic tests - Checks how well your bladder and urinary muscles work
Your Treatment Options
Get a personalized treatment plan based on your condition, symptoms, and goals. Your care plan may include:
- Behavior changes – Improves symptoms by adjusting your diet and physical activity
- BOTOX® injections – Places medicine in your bladder wall to treat some types of incontinence
- Electrical stimulation for urinary incontinence – Stimulates nerves to improve bladder function
- Medications – Manage or prevent symptoms
- Pelvic floor physical therapy – Strengthens your pelvic floor muscles through exercises or manual therapy
- Reconstructive surgery – Repairs or rebuilds pelvic floor tissues
- Strengthening devices – Help strengthen and tighten your pelvic floor muscles
- Urethral bulking agent – Bulks up the walks of the urethra to help hold in urine
What to Expect at Your First Appointment
At your first appointment, your doctor will review your health history with you and perform a comprehensive physical exam. Depending on your condition, your doctor may schedule additional tests.
