Pelvic Floor Disorders [2]
DIAGNOSIS
Doctors can usually diagnose pelvic floor disorders by performing a pelvic examination, using a speculum (an instrument that spreads the walls of the vagina apart). A doctor may insert one finger in the vagina and one finger in the rectum to determine how severe a rectocele is.
A woman may be asked to bear down (as when having a bowel movement) or to cough while standing. She may be examined while standing. The resulting pressure in the pelvis may make a pelvic floor disorder more obvious.
Procedures to determine how well the bladder and rectum are functioning, such as urine tests, may be performed. These procedures help doctors determine whether drugs or surgery is the best treatment. If a woman has a problem with the passage of urine or urinary incontinence, doctors may use a flexible viewing tube to view the inside of the bladder (a procedure called cystoscopy) or the urethra (a procedure called urethroscopy). Also, the amount of urine that the bladder can hold without leakage and the rate of urine flow may be measured. Doctors may determine whether prolapse of the uterus may be preventing urinary incontinence.