Physical Therapy Services

Our dedicated team of licensed Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers work closely with area high schools, colleges, and semipro teams to provide expert injury care, evaluations, and performance support—whether you compete on the field, court, or ice.

When it’s time for rehabilitation, we offer comprehensive treatment plans and advanced equipment to help you return to peak performance. With three convenient locations in the Cedar Valley, including one at the UNI Human Performance Complex, athletes benefit from cutting-edge tools like OxeFit, blood flow restriction training, a Hydroworx underwater treadmill, and the Juvent Plate.

Our skilled therapists specialize in recovery from surgeries, sprains, strains, and sports-related injuries. They also help athletes enhance performance and reduce future injury risk by correcting training mechanics. The collaborative care between our physical therapists and athletic trainers ensures a safe and confident return to sport.

Pelvic health physical therapy focuses on rehabilitation of the muscles, tissue and nerves in and around the pelvis that can impact bowel, bladder, sexual health and pain management. This specialized area of physical therapy addresses dysfunctions that affect people of all ages and genders, providing a pathway to improved pelvic function and overall quality of life.

Pelvic floor physical therapy can offer significant benefits to a wide range of patients:

• • During pregnancy, the pelvic floor endures increased pressure from carrying a baby and may be further affected by trauma during childbirth
• • Hormonal changes, particularly during menopause, can cause pelvic floor muscles and surrounding tissue to weaken and become less supportive
• • Active individuals may experience stress incontinence during exercise or physical exertion
• • Prostate Cancer

Signs & Symptoms Treated by Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

Pelvic floor therapy is ideal for individuals experiencing symptoms such as:

• • Urinary leakage when coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising or lifting
• • Frequent urination that interferes with daily activities
• • Sudden, uncontrollable urges to urinate
• • Chronic pelvic pain, especially after surgery or childbirth
• • Pain during intercourse or pelvic exams
• • Pelvic, lower back or hip pain associated with pregnancy or postpartum recovery
• • A sensation of incomplete bladder or bowel emptying
• • Constipation or difficulty with bowel movements, including dyssynergic defecation (a condition where the muscles around the rectum and pelvis do not coordinate properly during bowel movements)
• • Recurring UTI-like symptoms
• • Chronic constipation
• • Testicular pain

These issues can arise from a variety of underlying causes, such as:

• • Pelvic organ prolapse
• • Diastasis recti (abdominal separation)
• • Interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome)
• • Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction
• • Dyssynergic defecation or other bowel movement disorders
• • Prostate cancer

What to Expect in Pelvic Physical Therapy

During your first visit, Monica White, DPT will conduct a thorough evaluation, including a detailed health history and assessment of your movement patterns. She will likely evaluate areas such as your back, hips and pelvis to identify potential contributing factors. Depending on symptoms, an external and/or internal pelvic floor muscle assessment may be performed to evaluate the strength, endurance and coordination of muscles.

Once the evaluation is complete, Monica will develop a personalized treatment plan based on your specific needs. For patients with muscle weakness, endurance deficits or dyssynergic defecation, she will focus on strengthening and retraining exercises for the pelvic floor and surrounding areas. She will also incorporate biofeedback technology, which provides real-time insights into how muscles are functioning, helping patients visualize and improve muscle control.

For patients dealing with pain, manual therapy techniques, such as gentle stretching and release of tight internal structures, are often used to alleviate discomfort. Education plays a critical role in treatment and we’ll work together on strategies such as breathing techniques, dietary adjustments and lifestyle modifications.

As the only board-certified pelvic rehabilitation practitioner in the state of Iowa, Monica is uniquely positioned to offer specialized care and advanced treatment including biofeedback, to help patients achieve their health goals. Whether a patient is managing incontinence, constipation, chronic pain or pelvic dysfunction, our goal is to create a supportive, effective treatment plan that leads to lasting improvements.

Cedar Valley Occupational Rehab offers pre-offer and post-injury testing for employers. This process can dramatically reduce costs associated with soft tissue injuries in the workplace. Our isokinetic pre-offer testing helps an employer match a potential employee to an appropriate job level to reduce the risk of future workers’ compensation injuries. Our isokinetic post-injury testing has been specifically designed to assist employers in managing work-related injuries with their current workforce in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations. Both are designed to help employers reduce the cost of work injuries. Our isokinetic testing:

• Objectively validates a physician’s assessment of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), injuries to the knees or shoulders and trunk
• Determines an employee’s level of fitness for duty prior to returning to work
• Help match potential employees to an appropriate position

Cedar Valley Physical Therapy offers isokinetic testing for sports strength measuring and return-to-sport strength levels. Strength testing can be used by teams or individuals to measure progress with their strength training program and identify areas to build on. Return-to-sport testing will help identify where an injured joint (for example, post-ACL rehabilitation) is in comparison to an opposite joint to assess if an athlete is ready to return to playing. This can help reduce the chance of re-injury. Our isokinetic sports testing:

• Offers return-to-sport strength testing to help physicians determine appropriate time frames for athletes to return to sports and avoid
  re-injury
• Measure strength gains and goals for athletes progressing with their workout programs

• To find out more about our isokinetic testing services, contact us today

If you are experiencing pain and the inability to perform basic functions, an acute or chronic neuromuscular condition could be the reason. Functional dry needling is a therapeutic treatment that can relieve pain and increase functional motion for patients and athletes through the stimulation of neuromuscular and motor points via the insertion of fine filament needles.

 

This treatment can be used for a variety of conditions including: rotatory cuff injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis and golfer’s elbows, hamstring and groin strains, shin splints, patellar tendonitis and more. Reduce your pain, increase your functionality and enjoy your favorite sports—all with functional dry needling. Call Cedar Valley Physical Therapy today for more information.