Talking about the pelvic floor, it’s hard not to mention Kegels. These strength exercises have been the go-to treatment for all things pelvic floor until fairly recently. If you do a search online you will find that by doing kegels and strengthening your pelvic floor muscles you can prevent or treat incontinence, improve bladder and bowel function and even enjoy better sex. But what if the pursuit of pelvic floor strength is actually causing more harm than good?
The pelvic floor paradox
It turns out, there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that a pelvic floor paradox exists. In this paradox, a strong pelvic floor can become overactive or hypertonic, leading to a host of unpleasant symptoms, including:
- Feeling of tightness or cramping
- Painful sex
- Urinary urgency and frequency
- Difficulty urinating
- Pelvic pain
- Constipation
- Tailbone pain
So, how does this happen?
A few factors can contribute:
- Overdoing Kegels: While Kegels can be helpful for strengthening a weak pelvic floor, doing them too often or with too much intensity can lead to overtraining and hypertonicity.
- Improper form: If you’re not doing Kegels correctly, you could be engaging the wrong muscles or using poor breathing techniques, further exacerbating the problem.
- Stress and anxiety: Chronic stress and anxiety can tighten the pelvic floor muscles, even without conscious effort.
- Certain medical conditions: Some medical conditions, such as endometriosis or pelvic adhesions, can also contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction.
If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, it’s important to seek help from a pelvic floor physiotherapist. Unless they specifically recommend Kegels, it’s best to avoid them altogether if you have a hypertonic pelvic floor.
Yoga can also be a useful tool in treating pelvic floor disfunction.
Here is how:
- Pelvic floor awareness: Connecting to your pelvic floor can give you valuable insight about your personal experience of these muscles. Very often we are disconnected or desensitised and don’t even feel if there is tightness or tension.
- Pelvic floor muscle relaxation: These techniques can help you learn to release tension in your pelvic floor muscles.
- Breathing: The pelvic floor is working together with the other diaphragms in the body, most notably with the thoracic diaphragm which is our main organ of respiration. Every breath can be a gateway to working with the pelvic floor.
- Stress management: Techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing can help to reduce stress and anxiety, which can tighten the pelvic floor muscles.
- Movement: Getting regular exercise can help to improve your overall health and well-being, which can also benefit your pelvic floor.
In conclusion, the pelvic floor paradox is a real phenomenon that can cause significant discomfort and distress. Nevertheless, with the right treatment and lifestyle changes, you can find relief and get back to living your life to the fullest.
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Photo by Liveology Yoga Magazine on Unsplash
