Pelvic Floor - What is it and Who has one

What Is the Pelvic Floor

Your pelvic floor is made up of a variety of muscles that are at the outlet of your pelvis and hold up your abdominal contents. Men have a pelvic floor too. It is important in how our core functions, because ideally, the pelvic floor is parallel to your diaphragm when you are trying to exert a lot of force.  This helps you get in good position for creating the right intra-abdominal pressure.  The pelvic floor and diaphragm kind of talk to one another because as you inhale, and the diaphragm comes down, the pelvic floor accepts pressure and vice versa. They should work in concert with one another.

What Causes Issues With Your Pelvic Floor

One of the common causes of issues with your pelvic floor is having a baby. Sometimes, post-partum moms have a misconception that one can only have pelvic floor issues when they have had a vaginal birth. You can have pelvic floor issues with C-section as well because of the weight of the baby for the nine or more months you carried it  creates a pressure down on the pelvic floor. Just like a rubber band, when your pelvic floor has to stretch in response to force, it has to retract to a hold against that force. The muscles aren’t getting that much of a rest or break from the pressure when you carry your baby.

When I have pregnant patients visit me in the office, I give them different poses and exercises to help shift the baby off the pelvic floor to allow it to fully relax.  Relaxation is key for getting proper function of your pelvic floor post partum. It has been working overtime while you were pregnant to hold up your baby.  You have to keep this in mind because sometimes people jump into kegels, which require you to squeeze the heck out of the pelvic musculature. However, not a lot of people know what they are contracting or squeezing because there are a lot of muscles down there. It can be a person’s sphincter that he or she is squeezing, which is the circular muscle around the anus and the urethral and vaginal openings. People also tend to recruit their glutes or inner thighs to squeeze their “pelvic floor.”

Symptoms Of Pelvic Floor Issues

If you are not so sure about the symptoms as to whether or not you have pelvic floor issues, you can check out the most common signs to look out for below:

•         Incontinence
•         Urinary leakage
•         Fecal leakage
•         Fecal smearing
•         Pain with sex
•         Inability to use tampons or menstrual cups

• Low back pain
• Prolapse
• SI joint pain
• Hip pain
• Diastasis Recti
• And more

Some of these issues listed above do not seem to be connected to your pelvic floor, but the body is complex and dysfunction in the pelvic floor leads to poor core stability. Think of your core as your center. When your center is unstable, everything around it will be compromised.  You could theoretically have a neck problem from your core instability stemming from your pelvic floor dysfunction. The range of symptoms can be quite vast.

Very tight abdominal binders may also worsen your condition. They alter the way the intra-abdominal pressure should be regulated and do not allow for the full expansion of the rib cage. When the pressure has nowhere to go around the waist, it will most likely go up or down and the pressure can worsen incontinence, prolapse, etc.

When we get stressed, it can also tighten your pelvic floor. Do you find yourself clenching your glutes and tucking your tailbone under?  Stress can exacerbate existing issues or create new ones. For example, sitting at a desk all day or driving a lot can make the pelvic floor narrower and shorter causing problems down the road.

Changes You Can Make to help with Pelvic Floor Relaxation

Be conscious of sitting with your tailbone tucked under for long periods of time. That could be driving or desk work. Another thing that could shorten your pelvic floor would be cycling or spinning. If you do any of these activities (haha, who doesn’t sit or drive?), take the time to do some pelvic floor openers and relaxation techniques to counterbalance all the strain you put on yourself. 

People should not stop doing the things they love, but they should also not sacrifice anything for an activity they always like to do. It can be a five-minute stretch routine after the ride so that a problem will not occur in the future. This is a much better practice rather than having to rehabilitate after the problem occurs, which could mean taking a break in the activity you love doing.

Another thing I want to leave with you is consistency is the key to sustain the long-term change when you are rehabilitating the pelvic floor area. For pregnant patients, there are nine months of build-up to prevent the issue and work on their breathing. This takes time, but such consistency will definitely help create good patterns and muscle memory.  Addressing these issues for five to ten minutes every day would definitely help address the issues. Daily routines will be more helpful as opposed to doing it only once a week. Consistency creates that mind and body connection. 

Note that it is also okay to start slow just like when you are working on your breathing. It might not seem like it is doing a lot on the pelvic floor area, but it definitely helps with the diaphragm and pelvic floor symmetry.

It’s Never Too Late To Work On Your Symptoms

There is light at the end of the tunnel and it does not matter how long your symptoms have been present. It will be a lengthier process, but it is never too late to address the symptoms and you should not live with these issues forever.

You should ask yourself if you are at the point where pelvic floor issues are forcing you to give up the things you love and are you willing to take the time to dedicate six months of daily routine to fix it. You should also ask yourself how important it is for you to get back to the place where you used to do the things you want and love to do.

I created a pelvic floor, C-section, and diastasis recti course. It requires 20-30 minutes a day to do. It will be released in October and I hope it helps you with the issues you want to fix. You can check out more about it here (link to the programs).

If you have any questions, you can drop it in the comment section or you send me a message through Facebook or Instagram. I’d be happy to do another podcast about your questions. Also, if you want me to talk about something specific, let me know!

You can also check my TikTok account as I use the platform to educate viewers about movement, chiropractic education, yoga, pregnancy, and more!