It is the registrant's responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements of their respective regulatory body to practice pelvic health.

If you are travelling to attend this course/practical from outside of the province/country where you are registered to practice, please make sure you inquire with the College of the province where you are traveling to as to whether you require a temporary/courtesy licence.

Build the knowledge, practical skills, and clinical confidence to assess and treat individuals experiencing urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. This comprehensive Level 1 course combines evidence-informed education, hands-on pelvic floor assessment and treatment, trauma-informed care, and case-based clinical reasoning.

Course Format:

Completion requirement: Participation in all four course components is mandatory for successful completion.

Course Description:

This comprehensive Level 1 course focuses on the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of adults experiencing urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Designed for physiotherapists and other health professionals expanding their practice in pelvic health, it provides evidence-informed pelvic floor rehabilitation strategies that extend beyond externally instructed pelvic floor exercises.

Participants will develop practical skills in pelvic floor assessment and treatment, including vaginal and rectal palpation, through live online instruction, detailed demonstration videos, and an in-person hands-on lab. One week following the lab, participants return for a four-hour, case-based review session designed to consolidate learning and strengthen clinical reasoning.

A comprehensive prerecorded course in trauma-informed pelvic health care is also included.

Included with registration: Assessment forms, clinical resources, and patient handouts.

Designed for immediate clinical application.

Learning Objectives - by the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the anatomy and physiology of micturition and differentiate stress, urgency, and mixed urinary incontinence.
• Identify common types of pelvic organ prolapse, including cystocele, rectocele, and uterine or vaginal vault prolapse.
• Explain relevant urodynamic and urological investigations and common medical and surgical management approaches.
• Use appropriate terminology when assessing pelvic floor function and differentiate increased from decreased pelvic floor muscle tone.
• Integrate informed consent, trauma-informed care, and culturally responsive approaches into pelvic health assessment and treatment.
• Apply appropriate infection prevention and control procedures during pelvic floor examination.
• Select and incorporate relevant outcome measures.
• Recognize precautions and contraindications related to pelvic health assessment and treatment.
• Perform vaginal and rectal pelvic floor examinations.
• Develop patient-centred, evidence-informed treatment plans for urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.
• Apply treatment strategies including education, pelvic floor muscle training, functional training, biofeedback, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, manual therapy, behavioural interventions, and lifestyle modification.
• Recognize presentations requiring medical consultation or referral.
• Integrate assessment findings and treatment principles through clinical case studies.

In-Person Practical Lab

During the practical lab, participants work in small groups and take turns in the roles of clinician and patient. Our high instructor-to-participant ratio allows for individualized guidance, feedback, and opportunities to ask questions while developing hands-on assessment and treatment skills in a safe, respectful, and supportive learning environment.

If you are unable or uncomfortable acting as a patient model for any reason, you will be required to bring someone, such as a friend, family member, or colleague, with whom you can practise. We cannot guarantee that another participant will be available to model more than once. Please notify info@pelvichealthsolutions.ca in advance if you will be bringing a model.

Trauma-Informed Care Component

The prerecorded trauma-informed care component explores two important areas of trauma relevant to pelvic health practice: childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault and birth trauma. Participants will examine how trauma can influence a person’s experience of their body, health care encounters, pelvic floor symptoms, and pelvic assessment.

The course provides practical strategies to help clinicians create safer, more collaborative, and patient-centred interactions while supporting autonomy, choice, and informed consent.

Topics Include:

• The importance of a trauma-informed lens for health care providers
• Definitions of childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault
• Signs and symptoms that may indicate trauma
• The neurobiology of trauma and its effects on emotional functioning
• The ways childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault may influence identity, sense of self, and body image
• Definition of birth trauma and its potential effects on pelvic floor recovery
• Birth trauma and postpartum mood disorders, including similarities and differences
• Appropriate and inappropriate responses to disclosures of trauma
• Coping and self-regulation strategies that may support patients

Case Study and Review Session

One week after the in-person lab, participants return for a four-hour live online review session. During the week, participants work through assigned case studies that are then discussed as a group. This session brings the course together by reinforcing key concepts, consolidating learning, and strengthening clinical reasoning and treatment-planning skills.

Course Completion Requirements

To successfully complete the course, participants must:

• Attend both days of the live-online lecture
• Complete the full prerecorded trauma-informed care component
• Participate in the in-person practical lab
• Attend the live-online case study and review session

Audience: This course is open to physiotherapists, physiotherapy students, naturopathic doctors, naturopathic students, registered nurses, midwives and medical doctors. Labs include internal palpation.

Prerequisites: None - beginner level course

What to Expect

During the live-online lecture via zoom:

• You will be able to ask questions in the chat and the instructors/assistant will respond to questions asked.
• No questions are silly – this is your chance to further your knowledge and ensure that you understand concepts.
• You will receive a copy of the pertinent information from the chat after the course, so if you don’t want to focus on the chat, you will not miss out on the information provided.
• You will always have an opportunity to ask questions between lectures. You can come off camera (if you want) or unmute.
• You may ask a private question via the chat with the instructor or assistant.
• We use polls to keep our sessions interactive. All polls are anonymous and are there to help you learn.
• At the end of each day, we do another poll/quiz (anonymous) to help you consolidate the knowledge gained that day.
• You will learn and get very comfortable with informed consent as it relates to doing an internal vaginal and rectal exam on your clients if this is clinically relevant to their presentation.
• You will also learn all the contraindications to performing an internal exam.

During the practical component:

• You will be in groups with other health professionals taking the course.
• You will have a lab assistant assigned to your group. These assistants are pelvic health therapists with extensive knowledge and experience in pelvic health.
• This is your chance to do your hands-on practice of all the assessment and treatment techniques taught during the lecture component and ask any questions you may have.
• You will each have a turn at being the clinician and evaluating your lab partner and practicing the techniques you have learned.
• You will have an opportunity at being the patient with your lab partner.

Benefits of being a patient during the practical:

• You get to experience what your clients will feel when they come and see you for treatment.
• This helps you understand why your client may feel vulnerable, nervous or have apprehension with the internal exam and you can ensure that you make them as comfortable as possible.
• This experience of being a patient helps you understand why we take a trauma-informed approach to our interventions.

Myths around internal vaginal and rectal exams:

• “I can’t have an exam if I have my menses”. We do exams on people during their menstrual cycles. This is safe and not messy as you might think. Quite a lot of conditions we treat include pelvic pain during the menstrual cycle.
• “I can’t have an exam if I am pregnant”. We do exams on pregnant people since quite a bit of them come and see us during pregnancy for bladder/bowels concerns and pelvic girdle pain. It is often clinically relevant to do a vaginal or rectal exam. This entails a conversation about why we want to do an internal and going over all adverse reactions and ensuring that there are no contra-indications. Any pregnant person that has a high-risk pregnancy or has been told they cannot engage in sexual activities that involves penetration should not have an internal exam. If uncertain, pregnant people can check with their obstetric care provider to ensure they can have an internal exam. Once we have consent from the pregnant client, we can proceed.
• “I have never been sexually active”. Many clients come to see us having never had intercourse. Some of these clients are referred to us for pelvic health conditions that may benefit from an internal vaginal or rectal exam. As in all discussions with our clients, and as part of informed consent, we need to explain our reasoning for doing an internal exam, review risks/adverse events. If the client consents, then we can proceed.
• “What about if I have had trauma?” This may very well be a concern for you and it our responsibility to ensure that you are always comfortable during the practical. Pelvic Health Solutions teaches taking a trauma-informed approach and you will practice this in the lab. A vast majority of our clients will have had an experience of trauma, and, as their therapist, participating in the lab provides you with knowledge on how to help your clients be comfortable if they consent to an internal exam. All clients are reminded of an important component of consent, which is that they can withdraw consent at any time.
• “I am so nervous about having an internal done in the lab” We absolutely understand that you may be nervous and apprehensive. Our labs are supervised by lab instructors that will ensure your comfort and dignity. Our lab instructors are all trauma informed.

You can talk to your lab instructor about any concerns you may have about the internal exam. They are there to ensure that you get the best learning experience possible.

Remember that if you sign the consent, this means that you are consenting to being a model during the practical.

If you do not sign the consent, you will need to bring in someone, such as a friend, colleague, family member, to be your model because we cannot guarantee another registrant will consent to being a model twice.

Schedule

Course Format:

Completion requirement: Participation in all four course components is mandatory for successful completion.

Instructors

PHS Team

What people are saying

The level I Physical Therapy Approach to Female and Male Urinary Incontinence went above and beyond my expectations. I went into the course with the goal of getting a general overview of urinary incontinence in women and men. I had no idea how much I’d learn and that I would feel comfortable enough to start practicing.

The course material’s depth and breadth was just the right amount. The instructors were outstanding. They were extremely knowledgeable, patient and helpful. They were able to explain complex issues using diagrams, jokes, and coloured pictures. At one time, they had 8 people up at the front of the room holding different colors of theraband intricately, so we could understand the anatomy better.

The resources provided in the course handbook were invaluable. The handbook included assessment sheets, marketing ideas, evidence-based articles, websites, outcome measures, and apps (just to name a few).

The practical component of the course really helped me to solidify my learning. We had approximately 11 hours during the course of hands-on experience. Being able to implement assessment and treatment techniques on different partners helped me to feel more comfortable and confident with the female anatomy and also with assessing and treating urinary incontinence.

I’ve been practicing manual physiotherapy for 17 years. This was my favourite course, and it left me excited to take the next level.

– Sara G

An excellent first step in pelvic health physiotherapy training. Comprehensive course notes with the most current research references. Superb teaching with dynamic instructors who are willing to share their knowledge base and ample lab time to practice and learn from the instructors and lab assistants.

– Sheela Z

– Lauren M

I went into the Level I course, The Physical Therapy Approach to Female and Male Incontinence, with limited knowledge and understanding of pelvic health. After the course, I felt prepared and confident to use the knowledge and skills I learned from the course in my clinical practice. The course instructors were experienced and supportive of my learning. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in integrating pelvic health into their practice!

– Devonna T