Understanding About Pelvic Floor For Women
The pelvic floor is one of the most important aspects of a woman’s health.
In this blog, we will discuss what the pelvic floor is and how to maintain it.
The blog post then goes into detail about the function of the pelvic floor muscles and how they can be maintained with Kegels or other exercises.
What Is The Pelvic Floor?
Pelvic floor muscles are the ones that surround the lower part of the abdomen.
The pelvic floor is very important during pregnancy, and it protects against urinary incontinence. It consists of muscles, ligaments, connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves.
These muscles stretch from your pubic bone to your tailbone in your pelvic area.
The primary function of the pelvic floor muscles is to support the bladder, bowels, uterus, and vagina in women.
These muscles are also used for urination and sex. Basically, these are important muscle groups that hold your internal organs in place in your lower abdomen or pelvis.
How To Maintain Your Pelvic Floor Muscles?
The pelvic floor muscles are just like any other muscle group in your body that needs to be trained.
You need to train it on a daily basis by doing kegel exercises or other forms of exercise to keep them strong and healthy.
Kegel exercises are specially designed for the pelvic floor muscles as they involve contracting and releasing these muscles.
These exercises can be done anywhere and anytime, especially when you are sitting idle.
It can also be done while driving or even while working at the office.
Kegel exercises benefit women in many ways like: – They improve bladder control.
If your pelvic floor muscles are weak, they tend to drop down, causing urine leakage during any physical activities, coughing, etc.
They prevent prolapse and incontinence.
No doubt, the pelvic floor muscles are very important for women as they can affect your overall physical and mental health.
So it is very important to maintain them by doing kegel exercises daily, or else you will start experiencing problems like urinary or vaginal infections as well as other issues related to the pelvic region.
To know more about kegel exercises, here’s a helpful link.
How much attention should you offer to make this important muscle group as strong as can be?
Two of our specialists, Sex and Relationship Therapist Carli Blau and DPT Dr. Amy Hoover, are here to provide you with a well-rounded understanding of all that goes down below.
It’s the best pelvic floor refresher before diving into our most recent on-demand series, the Pelvic Floor Strong Program.
How Can Someone Understand If They Have a Weak Pelvic Floor?
CARLI: We’ve currently gone over getting a pelvic floor medical diagnosis to understand what kind of pelvic floor you have.
However, so many females later describe that they wish someone informed them they would have an intravaginal test.
Regardless, this assessment is when somebody can learn if their pelvic floor has deteriorated.
How Will a First-Time Pelvic Floor Test Go?
AMY: Pelvic floor therapy is no dissimilar to other therapy, except something: an internal vaginal or rectal test if necessitated and obviously granted.
These therapists are specially trained to do an internal exam of your pelvic floor. What does that actually imply?
- It’ll begin with a general evaluation to talk more about your issues, plus more in-depth things like evaluating your breathing pattern, examining your stomach wall, and your pointed trigger points.
- The therapist will first do a visual examination of the external genital area, urethra, rectum, and clitoris, checking for skin integrity or signs of inflammation.
- They’ll generally examine the external layer or superficial layer of pelvic floor muscles in the vulva, perineum, and labia location.
- Your therapist will ask you to contact your pelvic floor and watch to see if the perineum draws up and in towards your head.
- Then they will ask you to bear down or push like you’re going to the bathroom, which is an active lengthening of the pelvic floor.
If needed, they’ll utilize lube or place a couple of fingers to check the much deeper pelvic floor muscles for resting muscle tone, tight bands, and natural strength.
(One other thing to note is that we do not utilize a speculum like gynecologists since we are taking a look at muscle and not the uterus or cervix.).
After going through these trials and actions, your physician will likely be able to recommend a treatment plan with you.
How Can workouts Help The Pelvic Floor to Strengthen, However Not Too Tight?
CARLI: If the pelvic floor is too tight, you can exercise muscles around the pelvic floor to launch the pelvic floor and not have to enhance it anymore to end up being even tighter.
AMY: In general, women with hypertonic pelvic floor or PFD (pelvic floor dysfunction) must not strengthen the pelvic floor.
If you have a hamstring strain or pulled muscle, you would not want to do many hamstring curls or strengthen; this could worsen.
Movement and hip openers can help reduce tone in the pelvic floor and can reduce symptoms.
A pelvic floor strong healing exercise program would also be helpful for this group.
How Long Will It Take To Feel My Pelvic floor Getting Stronger?
CARLI: It depends on the signs you experience as a result of your pelvic floor. From a sexual viewpoint, if you’re experiencing a stronger orgasm or feeling like there’s less of a desire to pee before or after sex, if you’re able to feel more throughout sex, then you can feel those modifications.
The most typical one that I see is when a female has actually increased core and pelvic floor strength and has a more powerful orgasm as a result of it.
You might see your pelvic floor getting more powerful and more flexible with enhanced incontinence, less heavy feeling in the perineum or vagina, easier defecation, and much better sensory awareness throughout sex.
Pelvic floor strength can gradually increase over an extended period of time; however, smaller wins can include immediate modifications to your movements.
AMY: It can take up to 6-8 weeks of consistent workout to develop muscle, but you might feel changes within a week or two of beginning pelvic floor strengthening.
An essential objective early on is to understand and feel what you are doing so that you can do it properly.
Developing a strong mind-body connection with your pelvic floor can assist you to engage these muscles correctly during larger body language, but that takes practice.
Starting by practicing separated pelvic floor contractions while lying or sitting still helps develop this connection and awareness.
This can help you in scenarios where you may need additional assistance from your pelvic floor, like coughing, sneezing, or raising. Your body might eventually learn to do it instantly if you do these things mindfully and functionally.
CARLI: We’ve currently gone over getting a pelvic floor medical diagnosis to understand what kind of pelvic floor you have; however, so numerous women discuss afterward that they wish somebody informed them they would have an intravaginal test.
If required, they’ll use lubricant or will insert one or two fingers to check the deeper pelvic floor muscles for resting muscle tone, tight bands, and, of course, strength.
Creating a strong mind-body connection with your pelvic floor can assist you in engaging these muscles properly during more prominent body movements, but that takes practice.
