Could your pelvic floor be the most neglected muscle group in your body?
This week we have a guest blogger: Lene Cunis, senior physiotherapist and founder of Bodyconnect
Pelvic floor - I bet as soon as you read those two words, the odds are you are probably trying to find your pelvic floor or do some exercises. There is a feeling of guilt as you know you should be doing the exercises, but let’s face it, rarely does it make it to the top of the to-do list… Chances are you might not be doing them right anyway. In fact, 30% of women are not doing the exercises correctly and many tend to bear down causing more harm than good.
To Kegel or not to kegel - is that the question?
Are Kegels (pelvic floor exercises) the right approach for you to solve your pelvic floor problems? If you have a pelvic floor that is too tight, the answer is probably no. This means that there is too much tension in the muscles at rest; basically the muscle is tight and tense even though it is not doing anything. If this applies to you, it is best to go and see a women’s health physio who will help you with an individually tailored approach to help resolve your symptoms. If you suffer from pelvic floor weakness then doing Kegels will definitely be crucial to helping your symptoms.
Why is it so important to look after my pelvic floor?
The body works as a finely tuned system, and the pelvic floor is central to your body working properly in that system. Did you know that you could have no obvious symptoms and still have pelvic floor dysfunction putting you at risk of long term pelvic floor or pelvic organ prolapse? There are so many things that you probably haven’t thought about that can influence the health of your pelvic floor such as constipation, a chronic cough, poor posture, back pain or carrying too much weight. All these things can contribute or have an impact on the state of your pelvic floor so it is important to have more knowledge.
The pelvic floor is one of the core four muscles groups (alongside the diaphragm, transversus abdominis and multifidus) and when all the muscles are working together as they should be, a strong well-functioning pelvic floor can help reduce back pain and give you a taller leaner posture. Another positive to a well-functioning pelvic floor is that it can help you reach toe-curling orgasms. Yes it’s true. A strong, well-functioning pelvic floor = better orgasms! Who doesn’t want that?
How do I know what is the correct approach for me to help my symptoms?
There is no ‘one fits all’ solution to this. Everyone is individual with individual problems. Get pelvic floor smart with us and act before a symptom develops; work out how to confidently recognise problems and how to best address them. Whether you are someone with no obvious pelvic floor related problems, someone with past problems that have been resolved with treatment, or someone who is a professional pelvic floor athlete, learning about how your pelvic floor works and how you can best help protect your pelvic floor can have a significant impact on your present and future health.
This is where we can help you acquire all the knowledge you need to look after your pelvic floor with reliable information from trustworthy sources based on research and clinical experience. You get access to helpful articles, videos, a forum and the chance to ask your questions to our various specialists in our Q&A sessions.
The two simple facts are:
1:3 of you reading this will have a problem
50% of women who have had children have some degree of symptomatic or asymptomatic pelvic organ prolapse (Hagen & Stark 2011)
We would love to invite you to take the free, quick and easy pelvic floor test on our website www.bodyconnect.co.uk and find out the true state of your pelvic floor today. We think it is important to have one place where you can access all the relevant information, interact and share experiences anonymously with likeminded women and get the answers to your questions. Join us and start learning how to look after your pelvic floor. Make friends with your pelvic floor!
