Motherhood doesn't mean giving up on your goals
Reclaiming Women's Health
You deserve comprehensive care that takes your goals and active lifestyle seriously. Pregnancy and postpartum are an opportunity to improve your health for life.
At CONNECT, we help you navigate your pregnancy and postpartum journey back into physical activity, exercise, sport, and beyond.
Every Age, Every Stage
Women's Health isn't exclusively for women who are pregnant and postpartum.
At CONNECT we help women with a variety of diagnoses both before and after having kids (no matter how long it has been) reclaim their ability to achieve their active lifestyle goals.
This can range from leaking and incontinence to painful sex and pelvic girdle pain. If it happens down there, we treat it in here.
Helping Women Stay Active
Our Team.
Our Women's Health team is dedicated to providing you with a safe, inclusive space to reach your goals, no matter your starting point.
Our Services
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
Women of all ages deal with pelvic health concerns from urinary incontinence to persistent low back or hip pain. Pelvic floor physiotherapy takes a closer look at how the pelvic floor may contribute to your symptoms and includes a holistic full-body approach to help address your concerns.
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Birth Essentials: Pelvic Floor Preparation For Labour
A two-hour workshop dedicated to teaching you all about the stages of labour, labour interventions, third trimester and first stage mobility, preparing the perineal tissue and learning how to push and protect the pelvic floor.
For third trimester mamas, offered 4x/year
Read The Latest On Our Blog
PELVIC FLOOR PHYSIOTHERAPY
Pelvic floor physiotherapy is not just for those who’ve been pregnant and had babies. Women of all ages deal with pelvic health concerns from urinary incontinence to persistent low back or hip pain that can impact their participation in physical activity and enjoyment of life.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy isn’t just about the pelvis. It’s about how those muscles make up one part of the whole core unit, and how that core unit can affect the entire body. It takes a closer look at how the pelvic floor may contribute to your symptoms and includes a holistic full-body approach to help address your concerns.
PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM CARE
Physical activity during pregnancy is associated with better birth outcomes, improvement in back, hip and SIJ pain during pregnancy, and earlier recovery after birth. Activity doesn't have to stop at conception, we can help you stay active during your pregnancy, and return after birth!
With exercise guidance through pregnancy, labour and delivery prep, education, as well as postnatal care, you will have the groundwork to help you achieve your lifelong health and fitness goals.
WOMENS HEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPY
Women's Health doesn't always need to be addressed with an internal pelvic floor assessment. While internal assessments can help isolate a problem and completely assess the function of the pelvic floor, many cases can be managed without.
Women's Health Physiotherapy is an external-only approach to managing concerns like recurrent back and hip pain and leaking with exercise that still takes the thorough, whole-body approach of our regular assessments.
SMALL GROUP CLASSES
Postpartum small group classes run by a registered physiotherapist and designed to progress you through movements focusing on the pelvic floor, core and full body strength.
More information on our NewMomStrong and NewMomStrong(er) 2.0 classes can be found here.
DYNAMIC CORE FOR KIDS
Dynamic Core For Kids is a treatment approach to help parents and caregivers promote development of continence (potty training) and prevention of constipation in their neurodivergent or neurotypical children.
This is an external-only approach that starts with a thorough history, assessment of core and breathing strategies, and has a large focus on educating parents and caregivers around breathing and exercise strategies.
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Do you perform rectal exams?Yes! As it turns out, over half of the pelvic floor is more accessible via the rectum compared to the vagina which gives us valuable information about how it is functioning. While we encourage you to have a rectal exam in addition to a vaginal exam to give the full picture of your pelvic floor function, we understand that this may be something you're not comfortable with so you may always decline the rectal portion of the exam.
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Is pelvic floor physiotherapy covered by OHIP?No, at this time CONNECT is not part of any OHIP-affiliated programs to ensure that we can provide the best care possible for the length of time the patient requires it. Pelvic floor physiotherapy is eligible for reimbursement under all private insurance plans.
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What can I expect in my first pelvic floor physiotherapy session?As in all initial assessments, your first session will consist of a thorough history of your current symptoms and discussing your health and activity goals for physiotherapy. We will follow this with a thorough external physical assessment that may include strength and range of motion at the back, hips, and knees, and functional movements such as a squat, bridge, and balance. An internal exam may or may not be performed on the first day to thoroughly assess the function of the pelvic floor muscles in relation to your diagnosis. Then your therapist will explain your diagnosis and treatment plan, discuss treatment frequency, and establish a home exercise program to get you moving towards your goals. After your session you can expect to receive a personalized email from your therapist detailing your diagnosis, important information you need to know, and outlining the treatment plan.
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Do I have to have an internal exam?Absolutely not, you may see a pelvic floor physiotherapist for a pelvic floor concern and you can always decline to have an internal exam or treatment session performed. While the internal exam gives us valuable information about how your pelvic floor moves and functions and helps us determine a more accurate treatment plan, it's not necessary to have one in order to get started. Ultimately you're in the drivers seat when it comes to exams, you can decide to have internal assessment done one day and decide against it in your next session, or you may take a few sessions to decide you're ready to have an internal exam. Your therapist will continually communicate with you regarding internal assessment and treatment and will always respect your decision to proceed or not.
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Do I need a referral to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist?No! You do not require a referral to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist, though some (but not all) extended health benefit packages do require a referral for you to receive reimbursement.
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When can I start pelvic floor physiotherapy after having a baby?That can depend on the type of delivery you had, the extent of tearing, and any procedures that were performed afterwards. For an uncomplicated vaginal delivery we will generally perform an internal exam no earlier than 6-weeks, but may start breathing and gentle core activation as early as 4-weeks. If you have had extensive tearing or surgery following your delivery, we may not start internal exams immediately based on the recommendation of your OBGYN but you may start core and pelvic floor activation at the 6-week mark to begin the process of strengthening. If you have any questions about when to start you may consider booking a free consultation with our pelvic floor physiotherapist before you give birth or shortly after to build a plan.
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Are pelvic floor physiotherapists specially trained?Yes, a pelvic floor physiotherapist performing internal exams has completed additional training and rostered with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario in order to provide this specialized service