The Gut Health Dialogues

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: The Overlooked Root Cause of SIBO, Chronic Constipation, Bloating & Motility Disorders with Rebecca Patton

• Alyssa

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0:00 | 46:35

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If you've been treating chronic constipation, bloating, and motility issues from the gut side alone, microbiome work, methane SIBO protocols, bile flow, motility agents, and progress keeps stalling, there may be a structural piece nobody has assessed. 

In this episode, pelvic floor physical therapist Rebecca Patton explains how the muscles of the abdomen and pelvis form a single pressure system, why pain drives that system into protective tension, and how that tension makes motility worse in a self-reinforcing loop.

The conversation covers outlet obstruction constipation, why not every pelvic floor therapist actually evaluates the pelvic floor, and the widely under-recognized role of past abdominal surgeries, C-sections, hysterectomies, gallbladder removals, appendectomies, in gut dysfunction that shows up years later.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

  • Why your gut and pelvic floor are one connected pressure system, not separate problems
  • How pain creates protective muscle tension that slows motility even further
  • What outlet obstruction constipation is, and why laxatives don't touch it
  • Why Kegels can make things worse for some people
  • How C-sections, hysterectomies, gallbladder removals, and appendectomies affect gut function years later
  • Why recurrent SIBO may have a structural root cause nobody's checked
  • What an actual pelvic floor evaluation involves, and the three questions to ask before booking
  • Why gut protocols and pelvic floor rehab stall without each other

About Rebecca: 

Dr. Rebecca Patton is a pelvic floor physical therapist and the founder of Patton Pelvic Health in Arizona. She provides personalized, trauma-informed, and inclusive care for people experiencing bowel and bladder dysfunction, constipation, chronic pelvic pain, and sexual health concerns. She is also an adjunct professor at Midwestern University, where she teaches gender-inclusive pelvic physical therapy, and mentors clinicians and graduate students pursuing pelvic health training. 

Find Rebecca here:

Connect with Rebecca Patton: Patton Pelvic Health

Find a pelvic floor physical therapist:

Resources mentioned:

  1. Learn the five-step framework we use to help clients move beyond symptom management and address the root causes of SIBO/IBS/and any other gut issues.
  2. If you’re enduring uncomfortable, painful, and embarrassing GI symptoms and feel like you’ve tried everything, Alyssa uses a specialized approach to help people who’ve gone from doctor to doctor finally find relief. Book a free 15-minute 1:1 strategy call, and we'll talk through your history, what you've already tried, where you may be getting stuck, and whether working together is the right approach for you.

Find Alyssa here: