Pelvic Health Physical Therapist in Dallas, TX
Bethany Davidson PT, DPT, PRPC
Bethany Davidson PT, DPT, PRPC is a pelvic health physical therapist and Director of Physical Therapy at UCNT. She received her clinical Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX. After working as a pelvic health physical therapist for 2 years, she earned her Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner Certification (PRPC), which distinguishes her as an expert in the field of pelvic rehabilitation. She has been a pelvic health physical therapist with UCNT since January 2021. Prior to that, she worked at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, TX.
Bethany focuses on treating various pelvic pain disorders, pre-/post-op prostatectomy, urinary incontinence, urinary urgency and frequency, constipation, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, pain with sexual intercourse, erectile dysfunction, and many more diagnoses. She has had training in exercise prescription, connective tissue/ myofascial release techniques, dry needling, internal and external pelvic floor muscle treatment, cupping techniques, electric stimulation, and other treatment modalities. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and keeps up to date on current research to give you the best pelvic health physical therapy care available.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a specialized form of physical therapy that focuses on the pelvic floor muscles, abdominal muscles, lower body muscles, joints, and nerves. If muscles are too weak, then they are strengthened. If muscles are too tight, then they are relaxed. If the nerves of the pelvis are over stimulated, then we can help them calm down. If the joints hurt, then we can get them moving better.
Your pelvis is a group of bones that form a circle, going from the pubic bone to the tail bone and across to both hip bones. There are muscles all around and inside of these bones. There are many nerves that go into the pelvis and the pelvic floor muscles (PFM). There are blood vessels here as well. Inside the pelvis there are organs like the bladder, uterus, prostate, and rectum. On the outside of the pelvis, are the vulva, vagina, penis, scrotum, testicles, and the anus. Your low back, abdomen, and hips are also very involved in the function of the pelvic floor. All of this is considered the “pelvic floor.”
Pelvic floor symptoms develop when the muscles, nerves, and joints of the pelvic area are not resting or moving as they should. This could be because they are too tight, too weak, or too sensitive to any stimulus.
During the initial appointment, your therapist will ask you a lot of questions to understand what is going on for your specific issue. They may ask about bladder, bowel, pain, sexual function issues, diet, exercise routine, work, and past medical history. At that appointment the therapist will educate you on anatomy and function of the pelvis and pelvic floor. They will give you exercises which you can do at home to help manage your symptoms.
During any appointment, a physical assessment may be necessary. This can include testing the muscles of the abdomen, hips, back, and/or pelvic floor. PFM testing can be completed externally and/or internally. If you are uncomfortable with ANY of the assessment or treatment options suggested by your therapist, just tell them and they will suggest something else!
All of these questions and assessments help determine the cause of the symptoms. The goal is to figure out how to decrease the intensity and frequency of the symptoms, and hopefully make them go away all together.
The internal pelvic floor assessment is done with primarily comfort in mind. The point of an internal pelvic floor assessment is to see how well the PFM relax and contract to test for muscle strength, endurance, coordination, and tension or hypersensitivity.
If your therapist suggests an internal PFM assessment, with your consent, the therapist will very gently place a gloved and lubricated finger into the vagina or rectum. The therapist may put pressure on specific muscles to test for muscle tightness or nerve sensitivity. If there are no muscle tension issues, this pressure should feel like exactly that – pressure, not pain. If there is pain, it may mean that the muscles are too tight or sensitive.
Your therapist may test muscle strength, coordination, and endurance by asking you to do a Pelvic Floor Contraction or a Kegel. If you don’t know how to do a Kegel, your therapist will teach you!
Sometimes it is not necessary to do an internal assessment. If you are uncomfortable with ANY of assessment or treatment options suggested by your therapist, just tell them and they will suggest something else!
This physical therapy program at UCNT is self-pay. The cost of the initial evaluation is $185 and the cost for each follow up appointment is $150. At the end of each appointment, we will collect your payment and then provide a receipt, called a superbill. You can submit this superbill to your insurance company as a claim and request reimbursement. Depending on your insurance company you may be reimbursed fully, partly, or have the cost of the appointment put towards your deductible. Please note that some insurance companies may not cover pelvic health physical therapy.
A $50 deposit will be collected at the time of scheduling your initial evaluation. This will act as a no show/late cancel fee if necessary. Your physical therapist will send you an appointment confirmation 48+ hours prior to your initial evaluation. If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please do so 24 hours prior to your appointment. If not, the $50 deposit becomes non-refundable. Upon finishing your appointment, we will collect the remaining $135 at the end of the appointment.
There is a $50 no show/ late cancelation fee that will be collected for all follow up appointments as well. This will be collected before you are able to reschedule your appointment or see the physician again.
Dallas:
10501 N Central Expressway
Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75231
Frisco:
4401 Coit Rd
Suite 309
Frisco, TX 75035
Flower Mound:
4370 Medical Arts Dr
Suite 270
Flower Mound, TX 75028
