There’s No Quick Fix to The Pelvic Floor?

“Abs are made in the kitchen” 

“You can’t out run bad habits”

“You can’t spot train to lose fat” 

You have probably heard all these sayings at one point or another, and let’s be honest, they have merit. But this can apply to looking at pelvic floor dysfunction too. You cannot spot treat the pelvic floor with things like doing kegels to random songs, or doing random “deep core exercises” you find and expect all the symptoms to go away. 

I know that may sound harsh, but it’s an uncomfortable truth for a lot of people!

In reality, your pelvic floor does SO much, and it works closely with so many other muscles or structures that there really is no one quick fix that will have you leak free or pain free forever. 

• The way you stand can affect your pelvic position which can affect your pelvic floor muscles. 
• The way you breathe can affect your pelvic floor. 
• The way you bend over or pick things up can affect your pelvic floor. 
• Your posture can affect your pelvic floor. 
• Gripping your abs or sucking in a lot throughout the day can affect your pelvic floor. 
• Tight bras or tight high rise pants can affect your pelvic floor function.
• How often you use the restroom can affect your pelvic floor.
• Your tongue position can affect your pelvic floor (yes really).

Our bodies are so interconnected, and there really are domino effects that if you stay in one pattern all the time, it is eventually going to make it harder on other parts of your body! Now there ARE times that you need to isolate a muscle and strengthen it. But the pelvic floor is made up of 14 muscles that work together with each other, as well as the core, hip stabilizers, back muscles, glutes, etcs. The pelvic floor is also connected with muscles from the tongue to the toes via fascia (or connective tissue) and imbalance in any one of these areas can affect another muscle’s ability to perform its job well!

This is why seeing a pelvic floor therapist is so important. If you want to get to the root cause of your pelvic pain, or leaking pee, we need to know not only if your muscles need strengthening, but maybe they need coordination, maybe we need to look at muscle imbalances elsewhere in your body, or how you’re breathing and moving through the day. It’s also why I take a full body approach to pelvic floor therapy, and in my return to exercise course. The pelvic floor is like the shock absorption and major support system in our body, but if something is out of balance elsewhere, it can’t do it’s job properly. 

Want to get to the bottom of your pelvic floor problems? Schedule a free consultation today!