Did you know, up to one-third of the world’s population will experience a pelvic-floor problem โ but numerous surveys still show many people have no idea what a pelvic floor is or its purpose.
One survey of 1,000 women found ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ didnโt know where it was, and one-quarter didnโt know what it did!!!
As for its role, your pelvic floor is a multi-tasker! But it does not work in ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก! It is part of a phenomenal TEAM.
Letโs look at the role of the pelvic floor: I call these the ๐ฑ ๐ฆโ๐
It ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ the pelvic organs: The pelvic floor muscles sit at the base of the pelvis and form the bottom of the pelvis like a bowl. This includes the bladder and rectum as well as the uterus in those with a vagina and the prostate in those with a penis, and intestinesโฃ. These muscles need to have good strength, endurance, and tone to be able to support these organs throughout the day, especially as we are active.
It contributes to ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น health and function, including arousal and orgasm: In all individuals, regardless of gender, the pelvic floor muscles play a large role in sexual function. The muscles are active during sex and orgasms. They help with tone and sensation and maintaining erections. While tone can improve pleasure for both partners, the pelvic floor muscles need to be able to relax at the right times so that entry and sex are painless.
It helps to ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ your hips and trunk, especially when walking and standing: The pelvic floor muscles work as a part of the core muscles. The core is like a barrel that helps to keep the spine, pelvis, and abdominal contents stable and secure. The diaphragm, our primary breathing muscles, makes up the top of the barrel. The transverse abdominus, a deep abdominal muscle, makes up the front of the barrel. The back of the barrel is made up of the multifidus muscles. The bottom of the barrel is the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles all need to work together to keep our bodies strong during activity.
It has the role of ๐๐ฝ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ. This function ensures that things are kept closed when we want them closed (i.e. preventing leakage of urine and fecal matter), and that things open when we need them to (i.e. successful urination and bowel movement). While there are other involuntary muscles that assist in this job, the pelvic floor muscles have an important job. They need to be coordinated to do the right thing at the right time.
It is a ๐ฆ๐๐บ๐ฝ Pump: Just like the calf muscles in your leg act to pump blood and lymphatic fluid back up towards your heart, the pelvic floor muscles act as a blood/lymph pump for the pelvis. A loss of this โsump-pumpโ action can contribute to swelling or pelvic congestion.
The biggest take away is that the pelvic floor cannot perform all these functions without the abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and back muscles supporting it. They work as a TEAM! It is, therefore, critical to strengthen the surrounding muscles that fire with the pelvic floor to have any lasting changes. That is why teaching and advocating Kegels (an isolated movement) as the only pelvic floor work required, is problematic. โฃThe goal to improve pelvic floor muscle strength is to reinforce proper movement patterns of the core team.
Know your pelvic floor, and keep it supporting you. Donโt be the one who will one day say: โWhy did nobody tell me this 10 years ago?โ
I help women build strength and resilience, and also stay consistent with their workouts/nutrition throughout their menopause transition and beyond. Let me know how I can help you.
