You have a pelvic floor.
Yes- you, the reader, regardless of how you identify or what gender you are, you have a pelvic floor, and it is important you understand what it is and how to take care of it.
The Pelvic Floor is the term used to refer to a band of muscle fibres that sit at the bottom of the pelvis. Imagine your pelvis to be like a bowl, and the pelvic floor lies at the bottom on this bowl. It stretches across the bony structures like a hammock and supports the genitals, urinary system and abdominal muscles and organs.
What are these muscles primarily responsible for?
NOTE: As you know, the body is complex, and our systems interlink. This information is not the full extent of the pelvic floor. This blog is to serve as a simple introduction to the pelvic floor.
Here is a simplified summary of what your pelvic floor is responsible for:
-Stability (core stability)
I’m sure you have heard your Pilates instructor talk about the activation of the pelvic floor supporting the core? Well, that is because this muscle is part of the core! This means it is responsible for stabilizing and supporting the pelvis and spine.
-Sphincteric function (bathroom control)
These are the muscles which control both the opening of the urethra and rectum. This means the pelvic floor muscles prevent leakage of urine, faeces and gas. If you struggle with incontinence, your pelvic floor is a good place to start!
-Sexual Function (it’s not always “mood”- it can be muscles!)
The pelvic floor plays a role in your ability to successfully orgasm, ability to get and maintain an erection and your comfort (or serious discomfort) during intercourse.
- Organ support (structurally) The position of the pelvic floor muscles means it support our bladder, uterus, rectum, and important abdominal organs against the downward pressure of gravity.
Wow- sounds like a really important muscle, right?
So, why do we not know more?
Unfortunately, the pelvic floor is not a sexy topic. To make matters worse, you cannot see this muscle and its function (or dysfunction) results in symptoms that people tend to NOT share.
This means that you are really likely to learn about or investigate this area and we usually only see and hear about “Women doing Kegels” or possibly needing support pre/post birth.
This is your sign to THINK about your body. Have a look through the list above and decide is you think you may struggle from a dysfunctional pelvic floor?
Incontinence? Painful sex? Leaking? None-descript back pain?
All of these COULD we linked to a muscle group that you are not aware of, and all of these issues could be resolved.
It is 2024, you do not need to be shy about what your body is or is not doing. There is help out there and it is our job to spread awareness and break the silence.
DID you know?
A dysfunctional pelvic floor does not mean a WEAK pelvic floor. We often see patients that have an overly tight or “stuck” pelvic floor. Imagine your bicep cramped up, this would prevent you from being able to bend your elbow. Imagine not being able to bend or stretch your elbow? How disruptive would that be?
In Simple Summary:
We all have a pelvic floor, and it is SUPER important!
A dysfunctional pelvic floor does not always mean weak- so please do not just do 10 000 Kegels!
Investigating your pelvic floor function with a trained professional might just be the life-changing treatment you need!
Search: “Pelvic Health Physiotherapists: Men and Women” to find your nearest practice!
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