Interstitial cystitis/
Bladder Pain Syndrome
Bladder pain, urgency, and pressure that don’t go away can be confusing, frustrating, and exhausting. it could be interstitial cystitis.
If you’re dealing with bladder pressure, discomfort, or pain that just doesn’t go away—and all your UTI tests come back negative—you’re not imagining things. You might be dealing with Interstitial Cystitis (IC), also known as Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS) or Painful Bladder Syndrome. And you're not alone.
What Interstitial Cystitis/ Bladder Pain syndrome feels like
IC/BPS often feels like a UTI that never goes away, -but there's no infection to be found. Common symptoms of interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome include:
🔹 Pain, pressure, or burning with bladder filling
🔹 Constant feeling like you need to pee—even right after going
🔹 Increased frequency of urination (to relieve discomfort, not because of leakage)
🔹 Pain in the bladder, urethra, vulva, vagina, rectum, low back, or lower belly
These symptoms can come and go, or linger constantly in the background. Either way, painful bladder syndrome can disrupt every part of your day—from sleep and exercise to work and intimacy.
Interstitial Cystitis Treatment Should Be Whole-Body
There’s no one-size-fits-all fix for IC/BPS, which is why we take a whole-person approach. At Empower, we build a customized bladder pain syndrome treatment plan that includes:
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to release tight muscles in the pelvic floor, inner thighs, abdominals and glutes
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to help calm pain signals and reduce flares
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Purposeful exercises that support not only the pelvic floor, but also the glutes, inner thighs, abdominals, and spinal mobility. When the body moves well as a whole, it reduces strain on the pelvic region and helps calm irritated nerves contributing to bladder pain
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like bladder training, diet tweaks and stress relief
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because understanding what is happening makes a difference
Whether you’ve just been diagnosed or you’ve been searching for answers for years, pelvic floor physical therapy can be a key part of effective interstitial cystitis treatment. At Empower, we’re here to listen, guide, and help you get back to a life that feels good in your body again.
Let our experts Help!
Our Doctors of Physical Therapy will direclty assess your tailbone, pelvis and all possible contributing factors in a thorough evaluation to find the root cause of your symptoms. They will then create a treatment plan specific to you to lead you towards symptom relief.