Originally published on October 6, 2023 by Vital Physiotherapy & Wellness, now part of the Bravella Health network. Original author: Vital Physiotherapy and Wellness.
What your body goes through during cancer treatment impacts many systems of the body, including your pelvic floor.
Your pelvic floor muscles have many important jobs. They aid in sexual function, they support the organs of the pelvis (the uterus, rectum and bladder), they stabilize your core and low back, they control the release of urine and feces and they help pump blood back up from your lower extremities to your heart.[1] Sometimes when these muscles are not functioning properly, you experience disruptive pelvic floor symptoms. Symptoms you might experience that point to your pelvic floor being impacted by treatment are urinary or bowel incontinence, vaginal dryness, heaviness in the pelvic floor, pelvic girdle pain and/or pain with insertion into the vaginal canal.[2]
Radiation and chemotherapy of the vaginal tissue often leads to thickening of the pelvic floor muscles which causes narrowing of the vaginal canal. This makes it difficult to insert anything into the canal and may cause you to experience painful sex, pain with insertion of a tampon or even sensitivity in the tissues of the pelvic and genital area.[3] Vaginal dryness is another common symptom experienced after treatment.[2,5] Additionally, the muscles of the pelvic floor lose their elasticity and become weak or atrophied which cause symptoms such as heaviness in the pelvic floor and urinary or bowel incontinence and/or frequency. If any procedure completed during your course of treatment involves removing lymph nodes in the pelvic region, you may experience swelling in the abdomen, pelvis and genital areas.
While the pelvic floor symptoms you experience greatly impact your quality of life, these symptoms are not initially made a priority and that is COMPLETELY understandable. Although the symptoms you are experiencing occur commonly after gynecological cancer treatment, they can be managed.[4,5] It is incredibly important to remember that you do not have to live with them forever! You can get back to feeling like your body is yours again!
You have come to the right place! At Vital Physiotherapy and Wellness, our Pelvic Floor Physiotherapists treat clients everyday who experience exactly what you are experiencing! We are equipped and ready to support you in tackling symptoms of urinary/bowel incontinence, pelvic pain, pain with insertion into the vaginal canal, swelling in the pelvic region or heaviness in the pelvic floor. We are here to support you on your journey of getting back to being your best self again!
Your goals are our goals! At Vital, we work together as a team. Whether your goals include no more leakage or urgency, no pelvic pain or discomfort, better sexual function and intimacy, or return to work, home or recreational activities symptom free, we make it our #1 priority!
You no longer have to live with the discomfort or pain! You no longer have to be worried that you cannot get back to being yourself! You are whole, perfect and complete just the way you are. Sometimes your body just needs a little bit of support and love to recover and we, at Vital, are here to help with that!
Come see us at Vital Physiotherapy and Wellness! Book a pelvic floor assessment today at https://vitalphysiotherapy.janeapp.com/
References
- Bordoni B, Sugumar K, Leslie SW. Anatomy, abdomen and pelvis: pelvic floor. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2026. Updated May 13, 2026. Accessed September 24, 2026. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482200/
- Coady D, Kennedy V. Sexual health in women affected by cancer: focus on sexual pain. Obstet Gynecol. 2016;128(4):775-791. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000001621
- Morris L, Do V, Chard J, Brand AH. Radiation-induced vaginal stenosis: current perspectives. Int J Womens Health. 2017;9:273-279. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S106796
- Cyr MP, Dumoulin C, Bessette P, et al. Feasibility, acceptability and effects of multimodal pelvic floor physical therapy for gynecological cancer survivors suffering from painful sexual intercourse: a multicenter prospective interventional study. Gynecol Oncol. 2020;159(3):778-784. doi:10.1016/j.ygyno.2020.09.001
- Carter J, Lacchetti C, Andersen BL, et al. Interventions to address sexual problems in people with cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology clinical practice guideline adaptation of Cancer Care Ontario guideline. J Clin Oncol. 2018;36(5):492-511. doi:10.1200/JCO.2017.75.8995
