4 Tips for the Pelvic Floor + What does Leaking Have to do with Singing?

I’m Adele Gavin and I’m a personal trainer that specialises in pelvic floor and core functioning and a post-partum exercise specialist. However, I’m actually not a mum. People often ask why I’m so interested in core and pelvic floor functioning if I’m not a mum myself. The short answer is I’m a singer and a pelvic floor problem was affecting my ability to hit certain notes when I was singing. The long answer is because the core affects our whole body and its ability to move. Everyone has a pelvic floor so therefore anyone can suffer from pelvic floor or core issues. I feel VERY strongly that those with pelvic floor issues and diastasis should NOT be left to just manage their problems when there is help and support that they can get, and I also believe that everyone deserves to feel confident and secure in their own body!

Image by Sweet P Photography

I’ve suffered from leaking since I was a teenager, again not something that people would expect from someone in their 20’s that has never had kids. Yes, it can feel a bit embarrassing to admit. No, it’s not always something you feel comfortable talking about, but it happens. I assumed that it was just my body, there was nothing I could do about it other than dash frantically to the toilet when I needed, and it wasn’t something I looked into until it affected my singing. I’ve spent the last two years increasing my knowledge of the body not only to improve my own issues but so I can support others on their journey to build strength and increase confidence, through exercise, to improve their core and pelvic floor.

Most of the time we can take steps to improve these issues! Here’s a few tips to get you started if you are having trouble with leaking issues…

1) If you leak when you cough or sneeze, just before you feel a sneeze or cough coming think about tightening your pelvic floor and pulling it in and up. It might take a little practice, but this can reduce stress induced leaking.

2) When exercising, if it doesn’t feel good on your pelvic floor (especially with prolapse) then back off from that exercise or movement until you build the stability and strength you need to be able to do it safely

3) Kegels don’t help everyone. If you have a weak pelvic floor, you see an improvement when you do kegels regularly, and it feels good for you, then kegel until your hearts content! But kegels aren’t the be all and end all of pelvic floor functioning. Sometimes they are super helpful and sometimes they cause more problems. If you’ve been doing kegels and they’re making things worse then give yourself permission to stop. Maybe it’s just not the right approach for you, try something different or speak to someone that specialises in the pelvic floor. There’s more to pelvic floor functioning that squeezing the muscles.

4) Don’t lose hope. Leaking, prolapse, and diastasis can be frustrating, embarrassing, and just plain annoying. There’s not always a way to ‘fix’ these issues, sometimes they get completely better and other times it’s just about improving our functioning and strength to improve the situation, however if we keep seeking out the right information and get the right people to help it can make a huge difference to our lives.

If you want to improve your core and pelvic floor functioning, I would love to support you! Quote ‘pelvic floor freebie’ when you get in touch to get 10% off your first 1:1 session (valid until September 2019).