Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles? Try starting with this.

If anyone has ever suffered from weak pelvic floor muscles they know the pain and panic often associated with the mad dash when we gotta go, the reality that sometimes we don't always make it, and the lack of trust that often occurs between our brains and our bodies (at least that's how it's often felt to me). Pelvic floor muscles can get weak for a variety of reasons, the most common one that comes to mind is child birth (for obvious reasons!). However, the reality is the pelvic floor muscles are like any other muscle in our body if they don’t get used, and used well, then weakness can occur. That’s not to say those of us with weak pelvic floors don’t use them, of course we do, but getting them to work effectively is a different story. For those of us with weak pelvic floor muscles that don’t currently do much exercise that will strengthen our bodies (i.e lifting weights, bodyweight strengthening exercises) then pelvic floor lifts (kegels) might be enough to get those muscles working a little harder for us again and restore our faith in them! But for some of us, myself included, kegels aren’t going to do that much good. For those of us that fall into that category it becomes more about how the whole body works together to support our pelvic floor muscles to do their jobs. The pelvic floor can get a bad rap but a lot of the time other muscles can actually be our barrier to using our pelvic floor muscles effectively! Seems hard to believe? But the reality is the whole body works together and sometimes one small thing can cause a knock-on effect somewhere else down the line. Most commonly I see other muscles try to do the job of the pelvic floor and core muscles and you guessed it… things start to go wrong elsewhere. So what can we do? That largely depends on what exactly is going on with our bodies and the plan of action will be vastly different depending on the person, the issues they are having, and what is most important to them. However, things we can focus on are moving more, strengthening our muscles (especially our core muscles) and aiming to have ‘perfect’ posture. These can all help us towards improving our pelvic floor strength and reducing leaking. If you’re still not sure where to start, things feel overwhelming, or your pelvic floor problems are interfering with your life, then seek out help from a pelvic floor physio or a personal trainer that specialises in core and pelvic floor function.

**NOTE** If you’ve had a rapid change in continence or pelvic floor function, see a physio or doctor as soon as possible as this can be coming from something other than the pelvic floor muscles.

Happy training team!