5 signs it's time to address your pelvic floor

I am rarely asked about pelvic floor issues.

Even when I ask members about their physical concerns, injuries or areas of weakness.

Sometimes it's because of embarrassment. But mostly, they simply don't realise there is a problem.

So how might you know if you have a pelvic floor issue? Here are the top ways I see day to day.

1 - Incontinence

This is the most obvious way but can present itself in a variety of ways.

Stress incontinence - sneezing, coughing, jumping etc

Frequency incontinence - needing the loo regularly, unable to take long journeys or pass a loo without nipping inside!

Urgency incontinence - or "key in the door syndrome", getting home and urgently needing to get to the loo. Full disclosure - THIS IS ME!

Most women don't believe these issues can be fixed, OR they aren't enough of a issue to try!

2 - Pain

Your pelvic floor might be weak, meaning a lack of support and stability. OR it might be tight meaning a gripping effect. Either way these can mean lower-back pain, pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, hip pain, sciatica, shoulder and neck tension.

If you're struggling with pain and you haven't looked at pelvic floor, you're missing a trick.

3 - Tightness

Tight muscles develop to pick up the slack of weak muscles. Tightness around the pelvis could mean back, bottom, sides or legs.  If these are tight, and you battle to release them, you should be addressing pelvic floor because the imbalance may mean no amount of stretching will work and you need to address the root-cause.

4 - Core 

No core is complete without a functioning pelvic floor. Lack of strength here might present as a poor balance, a lack of tone, poor posture, instability or pain. As pelvic floor is a part of the core, you cannot strengthen one without the other.

If you have an abdominal separation (diastasic recti) developing strength in the pelvic floor will also help to build support and tension in the core meaning less chance of hernia, pain or instability.

5 - Mum Tum (even without being a mum)

My least favourite phrase but one that definitely grabs attention - be honest, did you skip ahead to this one! 

The best way to "flatten the abdomen" is to work on pelvic floor. If you are finding that no amount of sit ups are working you could actually be exacerbating the issue and strengthening the abdomen in a distended shape. 

Pelvic floor lifts the organs and creates a corset effect, helping to narrow the waist and flatten the belly.

And you may be noticing that all of the above are getting worse in midlife.  Again..NORMAL! Our muscle mass is lower and so what used to be a beautiful and efficient pelvic floor is now weakening.

Now is the time to get to work on strengthening it because these effects ARE REVERSIBLE.

Join my next FREE WORKSHOP designed to make strengthening your pelvic floor EASY, email [email protected] to find out where and when.

Or try a session on my YouTube channel