Pelvic Floor Conditions with Intermountain Health

Urogynecology is a specialized field of gynecology and obstetrics that deals with female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. Urogynecologists are doctors who diagnose and treat pelvic floor conditions.
A urogynecologist often treats women with conditions like urinary and fecal incontinence, uterine fibroids, and conditions that affect the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is the foundation of connective tissue, muscles, and ligaments that stabilize your internal organs (including your bowel, vagina, uterus, and bladder).

Pelvic organ prolapse is a common female health condition. It happens when any organ in the pelvic area, such as the bladder, uterus, or rectum falls into the vagina. There is about 3.3 million women have pelvic organ prolapse in the U.S. It is estimated that about 1 in 3 women will experience pelvic floor disorder in her lifetime. In addition, urinary incontinence affects 18 million women and chances increase with age.

“I would say the majority of my patients are over the age of 65. However, I am starting to see more patients in their younger ages. Anywhere from 25 to 45,” said Dr. Javier Gonzalez, a urogynecologist at Intermountain Health. “I think a lot of that is a function is there are more people willing to talk about it.”

Symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction
There are several symptoms that women should be aware of with the pelvic floor. Difficulty urinating or having bowel movements, frequently feeling the need to use the bathroom, long-term constipation, painful urination and unexplained lower back pain.

How can a patient see a Urogynecologist?

We are specialists, and most of the time a referral is required to see us. So please, talk to your primary care provider first if you suspect you may have one of these conditions, and they can then guide you further. Visit intermountainnv.org for more information.

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