As females we all have been conditioned to squeeze your pelvic floor. We are constantly reminded about the implications of ongoing leakage if you do not “squeeze your pelvic floor”, especially after having a baby.
But has anyone ever stopped to ask or think about how you truly know if you’re activating your pelvic floor? How long? How many repetitions? These are all questions I get daily in my clinic.
As a physiotherapist who specialises in Women’s Health I understand the frustration that women face when practitioners, mothers, sisters and friends are continually telling you to “JUST” squeeze your pelvic floor and you have no idea how to do that. Research shows that 30% of women who are training there pelvic floor are doing so incorrectly on their first attempt (Vermandel at al. 2015). Common errors include squeezing gluteal muscle, pushing downwards / bearing down or holding your breath.
Your pelvic floor is like any other muscle in the body and requires daily activation. Muscles need to go through both contraction and relaxation phase to allow for appropriate function of the muscle. This means women are twice as likely to get it wrong. In addition, if you have muscle weakness, overactive muscle, poor coordination or neural changes it will be hard to initial a contraction or hard to “feel” you’re activating the muscle. Each individual varies and needs to be assessed for accurate exercise prescription.
Now let’s test if you’re doing it correctly…
Sitting in a chair I want you to lean forward and try and contract in and round your vagina. Do you feel a leaning forward motion when you contract and a downward motion when you relax? This indicates that you’re using your gluteal muscles to assist/activate your pelvic floor. Now I would like you to try activation without the upward or down ward motion of your body. This may take some time to isolate the muscle group.
Whether you’re getting symptoms or not, whether it’s for prevention or reaction to an injury, your pelvic floor muscle is IMPORTANT. Ensuring you are activating your pelvic floor correctly is the first step towards better pelvic health. If you have any concerns, contact your physiotherapist who specialises in women’s health to get your pelvic floor assessed accurately.
Ellie Van Der Burg, Physiotherapist | Back In Motion Bundall
Reference: Vermandel, A., De Wachter, S., Beyltjens, T., D'Hondt, D., Jacquemyn, Y., and Wyndaele, J.J. Pelvic floor awareness and the positive effect of verbal instructions in 958 women early postdelivery. Int Urogynecol J. 2015; 26: 223–228