CORE STRENGTH
ADVICE YOU CAN TRUST TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY HAPPY HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES THE RIGHT WAY
It’s fair to assume I know a thing or two about pelvic floor exercises, given the births of my six babies. It’s also fair to assume my pelvic floor strength and control may have deteriorated with each pregnancy. But it’s the opposite – my control is better now than after having my first son 17 years ago. My amazing colleague and pelvic floor physiotherapist, Joelene Murdoch, helps to clear up some myths around pelvic floor strength…
IDENTIFYING THE ISSUE
Pelvic floor dysfunction can be confusing. Most people assume that if you have a dysfunctional pelvic floor, you must wet your pants. But
pelvic floor dysfunction can manifest in many ways such as pelvic heaviness, painful intercourse and, of course, urinary or faecal incontinence. Now we understand this, we can better understand the risk factors.
WHO’S AT RISK?
Other than pregnancy, women who have had a lifetime of painful heavy periods, vulva pain, chronic urinary tract infections, constipation, hypermobility syndrome, or being overweight are at a higher risk.
Most people assume dysfunction means weakness, but this isn’t always the case. Many women have overactive pelvic floor muscles – when muscles overwork they get tight and can be dysfunctional. Some women can’t relax, and others can’t coordinate their pelvic floor muscle with their diaphragm, which is essential to function. Some have good strength, but can’t contract fast enough.
WAYS TO HELP
A pelvic floor physiotherapist or gynaecologist can help explore your symptoms and teach you how to do a pelvic floor contraction properly. Ideally, see a specialist in person but for now, here our top tips on executing a correct pelvic floor contraction…
1. Lie on your back with knees bent up.
2. Put one hand just under your rib cage and the other on your bum cheek. Make sure you don’t contract your upper abs or glutes.
3. Inhale, and as you exhale, gently imagine you are drawing your vaginal walls together. Imagine you are gently drawing them up towards your head. Then let go, all the way down and all the way out.
4. Repeat, and this time try to hold the contraction gently while breathing in and out.
There are lots of images you can use if you are a visual learner, from squeezing around a tampon, to imagining a straw in your vagina and trying to draw up through the straw.
SOME GOOD NEWS…
Once you have rehabilitated your pelvic floor back to normal function, you don’t have to keep doing your exercises all the time. The trick is doing them right and checking back in if symptoms return, even slightly.