Why Doesn’t Anyone Talk About This?
Do you sneeze pee? Have leakage when working out? Occasionally not make it to the bathroom in time? Do you feel a heaviness in your pelvis?
This is very common in healthy pregnant, postpartum and menopausal women. This is even common in women who have never given birth. But it is not normal!
It seems that many women don't talk about these issues even with their closest friends and family. What’s a Pelvic Floor(PF)? I had a newly postpartum mom say she had never heard of or thought about her PF before having her baby. This needs to change. Women we need to be comfortable talking about these things.
The pelvic floor consists of a group of muscles that attach from your “sitz” bones, sacrum and pubic bones. They have many functions one you might be concerned with is carrying and birthing your baby!
I want you to know that you are not alone and there are many ways to improve your pelvic floor health that does not include surgery. Surgery should be the last last resort and is not always successful.
Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is when you sneeze pee or cough pee. Urge Urinary Incontinence is when you may go more frequently or you do not make it to the bathroom in time. One out of every two women suffers from some sort of urinary incontinence. Have you seen the ads targeting you for pads and drugs to assist with this issue? In my opinion, these advertised solutions do not address the real problem.
Some things that you can do to improve the health of your pelvic floor are:
Maya Abdominal Therapy is one of the techniques that I offer. (edited - I’m am not taking new Maya abdominal clients at this time) It can help to lift your abdominal organs off the pelvic floor, it can also help to relax tension in your core that can be creating pressure on your Pelvic Floor. You can also see someone who offers visceral manipulation. Another great option.
Women's Health Physical Therapist can help treat and diagnose pelvic floor disorders. I know you may feel uncomfortable thinking about going to this type of appointment. However, most of these Physical Therapists have doctorates and are very professional. Please let me know if you need a referral. I know a few great ones! In some countries this is just part of postpartum health care. All women receive this treatment after giving birth in France. Check out this article.
Movement and Lifestyle. This to me is the easiest way for YOU to improve your pelvic floor health. Our ancestors walked a lot, squatted often and did not have comfy couches to rest on. They moved a whole lot more than we do and now with COVID I think we are moving EVEN less!! Think about it when you get in that super cushy couch. It envelopes you. Keeps you in the same position for a long time. When you sit on the floor you need to keep adjusting your position to get comfortable. This is what your body wants, to move more through out the day.
Also the position of sitting on the couch puts your pelvis in a tucked position. This creates slack in your PF. Causing a host of problems.
Learning and practicing the exercises that I teach will give you the tools you need to heal yourself. You can build strength and flexibility in your body so that you can work towards healing your own PF dysfunction. Changing your movement habits will allow you to have an easier pregnancy, postpartum and really feel better for the rest of your life.
Over the years I've heard some stories from women at their 6 week check up getting clearance from their Dr. to resume all activities meanwhile they had complaints of pain and other symptoms of dysfunction. Sometimes the doctors didn't refer out to any of the helpful people above. This makes me sad and I want to make sure you know you have options.
This is where I come into play. I offer private Restorive Exercise Sessions where you will receive 1:1 attention for your specific needs. Also teach weekly classes at Nurture and am also offer Pelvic Floor Health Workshops where you can learn movements to incorporate into your life to help bring your body back into it’s natural healthy state. I am here if you want to chat, please reach out!