What exactly is the pelvic floor?
Do you know what the pelvic floor is? A lot of people mention that during pregnancy or after, you should protect your pelvic floor. Some people say to do pelvic floor exercises. Some people say, “Of course you are leaking, your pelvic floor got destroyed (I don’t like this word, but this is what people are saying) from having a baby.”
But what exactly is your pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor is an area of the body that is made up of a lot of muscles that sit on the bottom of your pelvis. In fact, there are 19 voluntary muscles that make up your pelvic floor. 19!! That is A LOT! Your upper arm only has 4.
These muscles should be able to contract when needed and relax when needed. They should be strong and coordinated. They should have good endurance and you should be able to isolate them.
There are 3 organs that sit on top of the pelvic floor. Females have the bladder, uterus, and rectum. Males have the prostate, bladder, and rectum. You pelvic floor needs to function correctly to help your organs work the way they are supposed to.
Your pelvic floor should be able to close, open, support, and help with sexual function to allow your body to pee, poop, and carry a baby. You should be able to have a “full” bladder and not leak. You should be able to have feces or gas in your rectum and not pass them until it is appropriate to do so. You should be able to jump without feeling like your insides are going to come out.
If your pelvic floor is functioning correctly, it should help support your body. It is part of your core and supports your pelvis, your back, your legs, even your arms. If you do not have a properly functioning pelvic floor, you will not have as much arm strength as you would if your pelvic floor was strong and coordinated. In fact, people who clench their jaw, most likely have a dysfunctional pelvic floor. It is REALLY important!
If you pelvic floor is weak, not coordinated, or the muscles are overactive, it is likely that you will experience back pain. Your pelvic floor allows your body to function so you do not have excess pressure on your spine.
Most people think that during pregnancy or after, you just need to do a lot of pelvic floor contractions (also known as Kegels). This is just not true. During pregnancy, the muscles usually are working extra hard to support your growing baby and your body. Sometimes, this can cause the muscles to be overactive and doing pelvic floor contractions could cause you to have a dysfunctional pelvic floor.
Just like during most exercises, it is important to be guided how to contract the correct muscles when doing the exercise. This is true for the pelvic floor muscles. Yes, it is important to have strong pelvic floor muscles. But they need to be strong and coordinated to be able to fully relax after doing a contraction.
Before doing pelvic floor muscle contractions, it is important to know 1) if you should be doing them 2) if you are doing them correctly, and 3) if you are able to relax between each contraction.
Rather than focusing on doing a pelvic floor contraction, try to focus on relaxing your pelvic floor muscles. This will help them be stronger, have more coordination, and help prevent dysfunction down the line.
