As you begin your fitness journey for 2022, us pelvic PT’s have one thing to say, “please don’t forget about your pelvic floor!”
The term “pelvic floor” has been gaining more traction recently, but we tend to only think about it when we’re having issues. What if we actually trained the pelvic floor alongside our other activities and were able to fully incorporate our pelvic floor into what we are already doing? Hello, pelvic PT! As we all begin our 2022 fitness journeys, there is no better time to explain what the pelvic floor is, why it matters, and why you should incorporate it into your fitness routines and goals for 2022.
What is the pelvic floor?
The Pelvic Floor is a group of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue located in your pelvis that works together to perform several roles for your body, such as support, sexual function, and bowel/bladder function. There are 3 muscular layers and >12 individual muscles within those layers that make up the “pelvic floor.” The 2 superficial layers primarily help with bowel, bladder, and sexual function. The 3rd layer (deepest) provides support and stability for your organs, pelvis, hips, and spine.
Overall, the pelvic floor, deep abdominal muscles and diaphragm work together to support your organs and pelvis/spine as you move. They also help to maintain your intra-abdominal pressure, which affects what happens when you cough, squat, and do lots of other daily activities.
And just like taking care of your other muscle groups is important, so is taking care of your pelvic floor.
Why is it important to include the pelvic floor into your 2022 exercise plan?
Historically the pelvic floor has been left out of many exercise programs, or only addressed when issues arise like leaking during exercises like jumping or running. Rarely are we educated on how to and the importance of incorporating the pelvic floor (correctly) into whatever exercise or activity we are doing.
Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that your body depends on, just like your hamstring muscles and rotator cuff muscles. It is a crucial part of our body that works together to keep all things going– core strength, breathing, hip and back stability, and more! Thus, your pelvic floor should be a piece of your exercise routine because it is a group of muscles that contribute to your function! Functions such as core and back stability, breathing pattern, continence, and more make it worthwhile to acknowledge your pelvic floor, learn how it works, and incorporate it into your workouts.
Don’t just take my word for it. In a research study regarding how the pelvic floor is overlooked when it comes to exercise, it was found that pelvic floor symptoms are a major barrier to exercise for women. Examples of pelvic floor symptoms include pelvic/back/hip pain, incontinence, pain with intercourse, prolapse, abdominal weakness, painful periods etc. If you are currently experiencing pelvic floor symptoms, doing something about it now, no matter how minor they seem, will prevent the symptoms from worsening and injury in the future. It could even prevent you from having to pause exercising for a time. [1]
What if I don’t have symptoms now? Can I wait to address my pelvic floor?
As we saw in the article reference above, the pelvic floor is proven to play a role in exercise, and it can even cause you to stop exercising, when not addressed. Just as we do resistance training to maintain our bone health, taking care of the pelvic floor is another aspect of preventative care. So incorporating your pelvic floor into your typical exercise routine can be tremendously beneficial, whether it is preventative or if you have symptoms currently.
While there are a million other reasons why it would benefit you to address your pelvic floor without having symptoms, the best one I have for you right now is because it is 2022. Over the past two years, due to the pandemic and other cultural factors, a lot of us are feeling more stressed, anxious, depressed, etc. than usual, which actually affects our pelvic floor. We are seeing an increase in patients coming in for pelvic floor issues with the trigger being stress. Taking care of your pelvic floor in a preventative way will decrease the chance of injuries or issues happening later! And incorporating your pelvic floor in breath work is a great tool for stress management.
How do I incorporate the pelvic floor into my fitness routine?
The safest and most effective way to incorporate your pelvic floor into your fitness routine is to have a formal assessment by a licensed pelvic physical therapist. I know you’re thinking, “but of course you would say that.” And yes, although I clearly love pelvic floor physical therapy, there are many reasons why we as pelvic physical therapists believe you should have an assessment before trying pelvic floor exercises on your own.
First, PT teaches you how to do pelvic floor exercises correctly.
Pelvic floor exercises that actually involve A LOT of coordination. Doing a “kegel” (pelvic floor muscle contraction) correctly is actually extremely difficult in the first place, and if you happen to have tight pelvic floor muscles (which is the case for a lot of people) then “kegels” are nearly impossible and often make issues worse. When patients come into therapy for the first time and they say they know how to do a kegel, 99% of the time they are either doing it wrong or it is making their pelvic floor tighter (and not in a good way :).
Second, pelvic PT can not only be done alongside your fitness routine, but it can also enhance your exercise routine. Here are a few ways:
- Pelvic floor strength is related to core strength.
- Coordination training with core and functional movements.
- Breathwork is critical for technique and stress management.
- Body mechanics training with common movements.
- Helps you return to exercise safely after pregnancy, surgery, injury, or break from activity.
Pelvic PT is an adjunct to whatever it is you enjoy doing (cycling, barre, cross fit, etc.) It improves your body’s function during these activities, which overall improves your fitness!
So as you form your fitness resolutions this year, don’t forget to include a pelvic floor check in with your pelvic floor PT to make sure it is functioning properly. That way, your other fitness goals can proceed without limitations.
Kristen Braasch, PT, DPT
Physical Therapist for MOJO
[1] Physical Therapy, pzab284, https://doi.org/10.1093/pti/pzab284,
Published: 22 December 2021
