Chronic Stress and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

You have probably heard that being under chronic stress is bad. Did you know that chronic stress can actually contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction? To understand a bit more about how these influence each other, let's define these terms. Then we will talk about how they are connected.

1. Chronic stress- The constant sense of feeling pressured or overwhelmed for a long period of time. This can be caused by a physical or psychological stressors.
2. Pelvic floor dysfunction- when the muscles or the connective tissue of the pelvic area are weakened or injured. There is often either too much, or not enough tension on the pelvic floor muscles. This causes them to not be able to go through full range of motion and can lead to a variety of pelvic floor disorders.

Now we need to look at how chronic stress can manifest into physical or emotional symptoms. According to Yale Medicine if 3 or more symptoms are present, a person may likely be under chronic stress.

Potential symptoms include :

• Aches and pains

• Insomnia or sleepiness

• A change in social behavior, such as staying in often

• Low energy

• Unfocused or cloudy thinking

• Change in appetite

• Increased alcohol or drug use

• Change in emotional responses to others

• Emotional withdrawal

Chronic stress can also keep us in a parasympathetic loop. Meaning our brain is keeping us in the fight or flight stress mode. To function well, our bodies are meant to be able to run away from the harm. When threat or harm subsides, we return to the sympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system. When we can't run away from the stressor, the stress can manifest into the above listed symptoms. The aches and pains can be attributed to clinching or tightening muscles. Have you ever been told to un-clench your jaw and relax your forehead? Relax your shoulders? Take a deep breath? Likely as soon as someone says that you realize you have been holding tension in one or all of these areas.

So how does this feed into pelvic floor dysfunction?

Our bodies are intricately connected. The pelvic floor system is directly connected to your core stability system. The body’s muscular system is so deeply connected to each other. Tension or an imbalance in one area can affect muscles in another. So when we hold tension in our jaw, we start putting more tension on our neck muscles. Tension in the neck can affect tension in the shoulders. Tension in shoulders can then affect the core muscles which attach to the pelvic floor. So you can start to see a pattern that chronic stress can affect how our pelvic floor muscles react as well. So much so that there's a clinical connection to jaw tension, and pelvic floor tension.

The vagus nerve is also a major player in regulating the body as it is the longest cranial nerve in the body. It is responsible for sending sensory information to the brain from multiple organs.

Vagus nerve plays a role in:

• digestion

• heart rate

• breathing

• cardiovascular activity

• reflex actions, such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing, and vomiting

It is a key player in the autonomic nervous system and helps bring the body back into a sympathetic state. It can be stimulated by movement of the diaphragm. If you want to read more about how the diaphragm and breathing is connected to the pelvic floor, check out this blog post here. A common way to stimulate the vagus nerve is to complete a diaphragmatic breath. Focusing on the exhale being at least twice as long as the inhale. This helps get the pelvic floor moving, as well as lowers the heart rate. Vagus nerve stimulation can be one of many tools for regulating the nervous system.

Identifying and combating chronic stress can lead to improved interoception, or mind body connection. This can help us identify weakness, tightness, or coordination problems in our pelvic floor muscles. Being able to feel how these muscles are working creates a stronger connection between your brain and the function of the muscles. Doing so can help you start seeing results that have eluded you before! Our brains and bodies are so awesome, and so connected. Understanding these connections can give us a better understanding of our pelvic floor. If your body is in a consistent state of tension or stress, we need to find ways to help those muscles relax, and get them to move through full range of motion. Being able to do this, we can get to the root cause of pelvic floor dysfunction.

If you feel like you are struggling with chronic stress, anxiety, or pelvic floor dysfunction I encourage you to speak with your physician.

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