Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions

So now you’ve had the low down on your pelvic floor, what it is and what is does, let’s fill you in on what happens if it’s not working quite right. If you didn’t get the chance to read about your pelvic floor you can here.
’Normal’ pelvic floor muscles should be able to contract and relax both involuntary and voluntary. You should be able to control them yourself but they should also work to prevent us leaking urine or faeces when sneezing, coughing or exercising for example. In the contraction phase there should be a strong lift and close.
There are two types of pelvic floor dysfunctions; weak or underactive pelvic floor muscles known as hypotonic, and tight or overactive pelvic floor muscles known as hypertonic. It’s important to note that we can have both types of dysfunction at the same time.

Hypertonic Pelvic Floor Muscles
Tight and overactive pelvic floor muscles can be a problem where lack of coordination and relaxation of the muscles is present. This can often cause painful sex, difficulty starting urination and can feel like there is an obstruction when defaecating

Hypotonic Pelvic Floor Muscles
As I mentioned this refers to the muscles being weaker and therefore cannot voluntary contract sufficiently when asked to. The symptoms can include incontinence and prolapse.
There are two types of urinary incontinence, stress incontinence and urge incontinence.
Stress incontinence is when there is a increase in intra-abdominal pressure such as coughing or jumping which causes the leaking of urine. There is a lack of coordination and fascial support to prevent this from happening.
Urge incontinence can be defined by the feeling of the sudden urge to need to go to the toilet. The bladder contracts when we don’t want it to and overrides the ability to prevent leaking. An example could be putting the key in the front door or hearing running water.
Weak pelvic floor muscles can be caused by a number of reasons such as pregnancy and birth, surgery, menopause, constipation, lifting heavy weights and constant coughing.

Pelvic health effects 1 in 4 women globally. Urinary incontinence is also twice as likely in women than men.

Can you improve your pelvic health?
Yes! Although leaking is common it’s not normal and shouldn’t be accepted as normal. Having to wear pads on a daily basis isn’t normal. Leaking can have a huge impact on our physical and mental well-being. Guess what! You don’t have to live with it and there are things you can do.
There are exercises you can do to improve the strength and function of your pelvic floor. You may have heard of kegels or doing your ‘squeezes’ and these can be effective. However, a whole body approach is required for optimum function. Most women tend to leak when they’re on the move and going about their daily life so your pelvic floor needs to be able to keep up.
There are lots of other functional exercises you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and the rest of you. I cover these and much more in the Holistic Core Restore® ‘Everywoman’ programme I run. You can find out more here.