At Ova, we take a whole-person approach to your symptoms. To get to the root of your problem(s), we will be asking you many questions that will help us to fully assess your problem(s) and the impact that it is having on your life. We thank you in advance for taking the time to share your story with us!

After a thorough history taking to understand your story, we proceed to perform a whole-body assessment. Your pelvic floor muscles do not function alone and your bony pelvis does not move alone. The symptoms that you are experiencing can be caused by another area in your body that should be addressed in order to help you recover from your symptoms. A full assessment of your whole body will allow your therapist to collect information that is needed to devise a treatment plan tailored to you!

Assessment of the Pelvic Floor Muscles

In a typical Pelvic Health assessment, often an internal exam is completed. It may be appropriate and useful for your therapist to perform an internal pelvic floor examination.

Pelvic floor examination/assessment is performed by observing and/or palpating (touching) the perineal region including the rectum and/or vagina, and insertion of a gloved finger beyond the labia majora (internal vaginal exam) &/or the anal verge (rectal exam). This evaluation may include evaluation of the surrounding tissues, reflexes, muscle function, tone, length, strength, and endurance.

Prior to starting any assessment or treatment, your therapist will explain the purpose, benefits, risks, and alternatives of every aspect of the assessment/treatment. You will be provided with ample time to ask questions before you give consent. Any assessment or treatment will be carried out with your ongoing consent and with respect to your comfort levels. You can give or revoke consent at any point in time to a specific aspect(s) of the assessment or treatment - within a session, and/or once the care plan has started.

In a typical pelvic floor physiotherapy session, your therapist takes a thorough medical history & collects information about your symptoms.

In an in-person session, a detailed intake form needs to be filled out by you prior to your session which on average takes about 40 minutes to 1 hour of your time. However, your therapist will need to ask you more questions in the session about the answers you provided on your intake form. This step can take about 30 minutes of your session.

This would leave less than 30 minutes for a physical assessment, education on your symptoms, relevant anatomy, and devising your program. This would need to be followed by an hour subsequent session to complete any aspect of the assessment or treatment that was left from the initial session.

By providing the initial sessions virtually, in addition to the benefit of receiving your care from the comfort of your own home without the need to worry about the commute, childcare and workload, your therapist will have ample time to take a very thorough history & details about your symptoms, provide in-depth education on the relevant anatomy, reasons behind your symptoms, techniques & strategies to address your symptoms, and initiate devising your tailored program through exercises.

This would be followed by a 45-minute in-person assessment to perform a thorough physical exam making the whole experience a lot less overwhelming, more thorough, and financially more favorable for the patients. Therefore, you will get more out of your session!

We understand that you may prefer to come in for an in-person assessment for your initial session if you have a diagnosis or have had experience with a pelvic floor physiotherapy session.

Please choose the in-person option from our online booking page.

Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy is a branch of physiotherapy that can help with a lot of conditions.

This video will give you a general idea about what pelvic floor physiotherapy is and how it can help you:

https://youtu.be/TleQTSIW11M

All appointments are booked online.

You can find a Book An Appointment button on every page on our website which will guide you to the booking page where you can pick the time and day that is most convenient for you!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any issues finding a time or booking an appointment.

This completely depends on your preference and your comfort level! Although the muscles of the pelvic floor can be best assessed internally due to their anatomical location, your therapist can offer you other options if you are not comfortable with having an internal exam.

Please have an open conversation with your therapist about your preferences. Your therapist will support you every step of your health and recovery journey through a thorough understanding of your full story, education, a complete external biomechanical assessment of your body, and providing you with a plan that helps you achieve your goals.

Yes! At Ova, we are prepared for your visit when you have your period at the time of your appointment.

We use extra absorption “Blue Underpads” & provide intimate wipes so you won’t need to worry about blood or fluid getting on your clothes or sheets. Please feel free to have an open discussion with your therapist about having an internal exam while menstruating. We understand that while this is comfortable for your therapist, it may not be for you & we respect your choice. There are a lot of treatment options that your therapist can offer you besides an internal exam.

You can see a pelvic health physiotherapist at any stage during your pregnancy or postpartum. We recommend having your first visit in your 2nd trimester during pregnancy and 6 weeks after birth. The earlier you have your first visit during pregnancy, the better you can plan for your birth with your therapist.

Yes! We are specialized in Orthopedic Physiotherapy and we treat all musculoskeletal injuries and conditions at any stage of healing.

No! Physiotherapists are primary health providers and you do not need to have a referral from your doctor.

Yes! We offer Orthopedic Physiotherapy Assessment/Treatment to everyone; i.e, lower back or neck pain, and any upper or lower extremity pain or injuries.

At this time, we refer to trusted colleagues for assessment and treatment of pelvic health for male patients.

Yes! Pelvic floor physiotherapy is a branch of physiotherapy and services are covered by insurance companies under physiotherapy treatment. Please contact your insurance company to discuss your physiotherapy coverage.

Yes! Direct billing on all services is offered.

We currently do not accept MSP, ICBC and WSBC claims.

Your appointment time is reserved just for you. We ask for 48 hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule so we can allocate that time to another patient on our waitlist.

Cancellations 48 hours prior to your visit will incur a 50% charge of the visit fee. Cancellations under 24 hours or no-shows will be charged the full fee.

Thank you for your understanding.