SARANAC LAKE — Adirondack Health’s physical therapy department offers pelvic floor rehabilitation for men and women.
The hospital said that patients who may benefit from pelvic floor work include those with urinary incontinence, urinary urgency, frequent urinary tract infections, pelvic pain, dyspareunia (pain involving sexual intercourse), hip pain, back pain, constipation, chronic prostatitis, urinary retention, and more.
The program is also helpful for women who are returning to activity after giving birth and men who are post-prostatectomy, the hospital said.
Pelvic rehabilitation specialists include Doctors of Physical Therapy Aimee Lynch, Heather Fehlner, and Makenzie Grevelding.
“Everyone has a pelvic floor, so anyone can come to pelvic floor physical therapy,” Lynch said.
Adirondack Health’s pelvic rehabilitation program began a few years ago with Lynch, who came to Adirondack Health in 2019 after earning her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Russell Sage College.
She said she became interested in pelvic rehabilitation after dealing with pelvic pain herself and helping a friend who was incontinent during her first pregnancy. Soon after, she completed coursework with the Herman and Wallace Pelvic Institute and started the pelvic rehabilitation program at Adirondack Health.
After working with pelvic patients for about two years, the program expanded to include Grevelding and Fehlner in 2023. This expansion also enabled pelvic floor rehabilitation to be offered at Adirondack Health’s Tupper Lake and Lake Placid campuses.
Fehlner joined Adirondack Health in 2021, becoming part of the outpatient rehabilitation clinic in Saranac Lake in 2023, where she also provides pelvic rehabilitation services. She earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Miami in 2014, with additional coursework taken through the Herman and Wallace in 2023 to provide and expand the pelvic floor rehabilitation services offered at Adirondack Health.
Grevelding provides pelvic rehabilitation services at Adirondack Health’s Lake Placid physical therapy office. She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Upstate Medical University in 2019 and has been employed by Adirondack Health since 2023. She pursued training in pelvic rehabilitation as a student because one of her professors was enthusiastic about expanding support for pelvic health.
“There’s been such a huge need for pelvic floor rehabilitation up here,” Grevelding said.
Since Adirondack Health increased its urology services in 2023, following the arrival of urologist Dr. Jonathan Riddell and urology physician assistant Melanie Fortin, more patients have been utilizing the health system’s pelvic rehabilitation services, the hospital said.
Adirondack Health’s Women’s Health Center has also been very supportive of the pelvic rehabilitation program, referring many of its own patients.
While pelvic floor issues have primarily been associated with women, every human being has a pelvic floor. Lynch is one of the only pelvic floor specialists for men in the area.
“In the beginning, they called pelvic rehabilitation women’s health, and now it’s all genders,” Fehlner said.
Through education and physical therapy, Lynch said some patients feel as much as 50 percent better in just one visit because they know more about how their body works and what they can do to mitigate their symptoms.
“For some people, it’s hard for them to get help because they don’t want to admit they need help for these things,” Grevelding said. “It’s been nice to provide a safe space for men and women to educate themselves on this. There are things we can do to help you.”
Since the program began roughly four years ago, Lynch said the community is seeing how helpful it is. Word-of-mouth referrals are helping people overcome the “taboo” or embarrassment of talking about symptoms like urinary incontinence, urgency, or pelvic pain.
Lynch said many times, symptoms can be resolved through small changes in behaviors, working on strength exercises, modifying the way you’re lifting, hydration training, bladder re-training, or strangely enough, just making sure you’re staying hydrated.
“A lot of people dehydrate themselves thinking it will help. Dehydration makes leaking worse,” Lynch said.
Major components of the education include identifying a patient’s pelvic floor, teaching them to isolate that part of their body, and engaging their muscles to lift it.
Currently, women can seek pelvic rehabilitation at Adirondack Health’s Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake, and Lake Placid campuses. At this time, men can receive treatment at the Tupper Lake campus.
Some insurances (primarily Medicare and Medicare) do require a referral from your doctor, but most commercial insurance companies allow direct access to this service.
To learn more or make an appointment, call the office of your choice based on location: Saranac Lake’s Adirondack Medical Center (518-897-2697); Tupper Lake’s Adirondack Health Rehabilitation Center (518-359-2479); or Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center (518-523-8580).