Finding Pelvic Sanity
Is it Interstitial Cystitis (IC) or Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD)?
One of the most common questions we get asked is whether your symptoms are truly IC or are they pelvic floor dysfunction.
It’s important to know that ‘IC’ is a description of symptoms. It just means you’re experiencing pain you perceive to be coming from the bladder and urinary urgency/frequency. But it tells us nothing about the ‘why’ of your symptoms or what treatments to try.
It’s also important to realize that IC is not a bladder condition. It’s a pelvic pain condition. More than 90% of people diagnosed with IC have no discernable problem with their bladder. Even those who do have Hunner’s lesions are not ‘cured’ when those are removed.
Among those diagnosed with IC, nearly 90% have confirmed pelvic floor dysfunction. And at PelvicSanity, we’ve literally never seen someone with IC symptoms who didn’t have a pelvic floor component.
It’s often down to your physician whether you get an IC diagnosis. Some urologists don’t like saying ‘IC’ to patients because it leads them down the bladder-centric road of Elmiron, instillations and focusing on the ‘IC diet’.
Others are more liberal with the diagnosis and use it for any patient who has the symptoms that qualify.
Ultimately, if you’re diagnosed with IC many - if not all - of your symptoms are likely coming from the pelvic floor. So there’s a huge overlap between these terms. It makes sense to focus less on the label and more on finding the practitioners who can help!
IC Roadmap Course
If you've been diagnosed with IC (or suspect you may have it), we have a full-length online course with all of the information you need to understand the diagnosis and formulate your plan for recovery. You can find The IC Roadmap course here (www.pelvicsanity.com/icroadmap)!
And if you haven't already, make sure you join the Finding Pelvic Sanity online community!
About Us
Dr. Nicole and Jesse Cozean are the founders of PelvicSanity Physical Therapy (www.pelvicsanity.com) in Southern California. The clinic has helped thousands of patients in the Orange County, CA area and hundreds from around the world with a remote consultation and Out of Town Program.
They co-authored The IC Solution and Nicole created The IC Roadmap online course to provide the most accurate, up-to-date information for those with interstitial cystitis. They run the Finding Pelvic Sanity Facebook group for a supportive online community for anyone dealing with pelvic health issues.
Nicole has also created courses and trained thousands of pelvic PTs to provide better care through her work with Pelvic PT Rising (www.pelvicptrising.com).
- Subscribe to the podcast
- Follow @pelvicsanity for great info!
- Join the Finding PelvicSanity support group
- Check out www.pelvicsanity.com for additional help!
And as always, we hope this has helped you find just a bit of pelvic sanity!
One of the most common questions we get asked is whether your symptoms are truly IC or are they pelvic floor dysfunction.
It’s important to know that ‘IC’ is a description of symptoms. It just means you’re experiencing pain you perceive to be coming from the bladder and urinary urgency/frequency. But it tells us nothing about the ‘why’ of your symptoms or what treatments to try.
It’s also important to realize that IC is not a bladder condition. It’s a pelvic pain condition. More than 90% of people diagnosed with IC have no discernable problem with their bladder. Even those who do have Hunner’s lesions are not ‘cured’ when those are removed.
Among those diagnosed with IC, nearly 90% have confirmed pelvic floor dysfunction. And at PelvicSanity, we’ve literally never seen someone with IC symptoms who didn’t have a pelvic floor component.
It’s often down to your physician whether you get an IC diagnosis. Some urologists don’t like saying ‘IC’ to patients because it leads them down the bladder-centric road of Elmiron, instillations and focusing on the ‘IC diet’.
Others are more liberal with the diagnosis and use it for any patient who has the symptoms that qualify.
Ultimately, if you’re diagnosed with IC many - if not all - of your symptoms are likely coming from the pelvic floor. So there’s a huge overlap between these terms. It makes sense to focus less on the label and more on finding the practitioners who can help!
IC Roadmap Course
If you've been diagnosed with IC (or suspect you may have it), we have a full-length online course with all of the information you need to understand the diagnosis and formulate your plan for recovery. You can find The IC Roadmap course here (www.pelvicsanity.com/icroadmap)!
And if you haven't already, make sure you join the Finding Pelvic Sanity online community!
About Us
Dr. Nicole and Jesse Cozean are the founders of PelvicSanity Physical Therapy (www.pelvicsanity.com) in Southern California. The clinic has helped thousands of patients in the Orange County, CA area and hundreds from around the world with a remote consultation and Out of Town Program.
They co-authored The IC Solution and Nicole created The IC Roadmap online course to provide the most accurate, up-to-date information for those with interstitial cystitis. They run the Finding Pelvic Sanity Facebook group for a supportive online community for anyone dealing with pelvic health issues.
Nicole has also created courses and trained thousands of pelvic PTs to provide better care through her work with Pelvic PT Rising (www.pelvicptrising.com).
- Subscribe to the podcast
- Follow @pelvicsanity for great info!
- Join the Finding PelvicSanity support group
- Check out www.pelvicsanity.com for additional help!
And as always, we hope this has helped you find just a bit of pelvic sanity!