Pelvic Floor Therapy

Release Fascia Tension With Pelvic Floor Therapy & Relieve Pain

Countless people live with persistent pain in their thighs, abdomen, or lower back without ever discovering its true origin. Despite extensive testing and various treatments, relief remains elusive. What many don’t realize is that their discomfort may actually stem from pelvic floor dysfunction and fascial restrictions that radiate outward from the pelvis. At Santa Fe Pelvic Floor & Physical Therapy, Jacqueline Maestas, DPT, helps patients uncover the connection between their chronic pain and pelvic floor tension, using targeted therapy to release fascial restrictions and restore healthy function throughout the core and hip complex.

Recognizing how pelvic floor muscles, fascia, and neighboring structures work together explains why specialized pelvic floor therapy can resolve pain that other approaches have failed to address. Lasting relief comes from treating the source—not just the location where pain appears.

How Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Causes Pain Beyond the Pelvis

The pelvic floor muscles operate as part of a larger, integrated core stabilization system rather than functioning independently. Fascial networks link these muscles to the inner thighs, lower abdomen, lumbar spine, and hips, forming a continuous tissue web that transfers tension across the entire region. When pelvic floor muscles become hypertonic, weakened, or poorly coordinated, the resulting imbalance ripples outward through connected structures, producing pain in areas that seem completely unrelated to the pelvis.

Trigger points within the pelvic floor commonly send referred pain into the thighs, groin, abdomen, and back via neural and fascial pathways. Pain science research demonstrates that myofascial trigger points generate consistent, predictable referral patterns. This means chronically tight pelvic floor muscles reliably create discomfort in specific distant locations. Treating only where the pain manifests—without addressing pelvic floor dysfunction—offers temporary relief at best.

Understanding Fascia and Its Role in Pelvic Floor Therapy

Fascia is the connective tissue matrix that envelops, supports, and links every muscle, organ, and structure in the body. This three-dimensional web creates continuity between distant regions, meaning restrictions in one area can alter function and sensation somewhere else entirely. The fascial system connecting the pelvic floor to the thighs, abdomen, and lower back allows tension or adhesions in pelvic muscles to generate pulling, stiffness, and pain throughout these connected zones.

When fascia is healthy, it glides freely, enabling smooth muscle movement and full joint mobility. However, trauma, surgical procedures, chronic inflammation, postural habits, or sustained muscle tension can cause fascia to thicken, bind, and lose its pliability. These fascial adhesions restrict movement and create painful tension across interconnected tissues—problems that pelvic floor therapy addresses through specialized hands-on techniques.

How Pelvic Floor Therapy Releases Thigh Pain

Inner thigh discomfort, groin pain, and hip tightness frequently originate from pelvic floor muscle dysfunction and fascial restrictions linking the pelvis to the hip adductors and flexors. Pelvic floor trigger points refer pain directly into the inner thighs, while fascial tension produces pulling sensations and limited range of motion. Conventional treatments targeting only the thigh muscles fail because the true source of dysfunction lies within the pelvis.

Pelvic floor therapy resolves thigh pain by releasing hypertonic pelvic muscles through internal manual therapy, deactivating trigger points, and reestablishing healthy muscle activation patterns. External myofascial release techniques address the connective tissue linking the pelvis to the thighs, restoring unrestricted movement and eliminating the tension that creates ongoing discomfort.

How Pelvic Floor Therapy Addresses Abdominal Pain

Lower abdominal pain is frequently attributed to gynecological or digestive issues when the actual culprit is pelvic floor dysfunction and fascial restriction. The pelvic floor connects directly to the lower abdominal muscles through fascial planes, and dysfunction in one area inevitably affects the other. Chronic pelvic floor tension pulls on abdominal fascia, manifesting as lower abdominal cramping, aching, or positional discomfort.

Pelvic floor therapy eliminates abdominal pain by treating the underlying muscle tension and fascial adhesions in the pelvic floor. Manual therapy techniques decompress the pelvis, release trigger points, and restore mobility to restricted fascia connecting the pelvic floor to the abdominal wall—addressing the mechanical cause of pain that medications simply cannot reach.

How Pelvic Floor Therapy Relieves Lower Back Pain

Research clearly establishes the relationship between pelvic floor dysfunction and lower back pain, yet this connection is routinely overlooked in clinical practice. The pelvic floor works in concert with the deep abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and spinal stabilizers to support the lumbar spine and pelvis. When pelvic floor muscles are weak, overactive, or poorly coordinated, the entire core stabilization system breaks down, placing excessive strain on the lower back.

Fascial connections between the pelvic floor and lumbar region create direct pathways for tension transmission. Tight pelvic floor muscles pull on sacral and lumbar fascia, generating back pain that conventional spinal treatments cannot resolve because they ignore the pelvic floor component. Pelvic floor therapy restores proper function to these stabilizing muscles, eliminating the abnormal forces responsible for persistent back pain.

Manual Techniques and Exercise in Pelvic Floor Therapy

Pelvic floor therapy utilizes a range of manual techniques to release fascial tension and normalize muscle function. Internal manual therapy provides direct access to pelvic floor muscles, allowing precise treatment of trigger points, muscle lengthening, and improved tissue mobility. External myofascial release addresses fascial restrictions throughout the hips, thighs, abdomen, and lower back that connect to pelvic floor dysfunction. Joint mobilization ensures proper sacroiliac and hip mechanics, which directly influence pelvic floor function.

While manual therapy releases existing tension and restrictions, therapeutic exercise retrains proper muscle activation and coordination to prevent recurrence. Patients learn breathing mechanics, postural corrections, and movement patterns that support healthy pelvic floor function during everyday activities. At Santa Fe Pelvic Floor & Physical Therapy, Jacqueline Maestas, DPT, develops individualized treatment and exercise programs addressing each patient’s specific dysfunction and goals.

Pelvic Floor Therapy | Santa Fe

Chronic pain in the thighs, abdomen, or lower back often originates from pelvic floor dysfunction and fascial restrictions that conventional treatments overlook. Pelvic floor therapy targets these interconnected tissues through specialized manual techniques that release fascial tension, eliminate trigger points, and restore healthy muscle function throughout the core and hip complex.

At Santa Fe Pelvic Floor & Physical Therapy, Jacqueline Maestas, DPT, provides expert care addressing the pelvic floor contribution to pain throughout the pelvis, thighs, abdomen, and lower back. If you are experiencing chronic pain in these regions that hasn’t responded to other treatments, schedule a consultation to discover how pelvic floor therapy may finally provide the relief you’ve been seeking.

Santa Fe Pelvic Floor Therapy: 505-988-4922