Are you struggling with embarrassing bladder problems? Have you been doing your pelvic floor exercises diligently, but getting nowhere?
Many of us have heard the old bit of advice that we all need to strengthen our pelvic floor and do “Kegels”. Pelvic floor exercises or “Kegels” are when the hammock of pelvic floor muscles that sit at the base of your pelvis contract, similarly to when you need to hold your wee when you really need to go to the toilet. A strong pelvic floor is important in the management of conditions such as bladder leakage, post-partum recovery, and prolapse.
Some women will do generic pelvic floor exercises ALL the time but find no improvement, and on occasion can feel worse. Why is this? There are a number of different reasons why you may not be benefiting from your generic pelvic floor exercises, including:
- You may be doing the exercise incorrectly
Often when we assess a patient’s pelvic floor contraction, they find it very difficult to find the right muscles, and often end up using other muscles to help (commonly abs, butt, or inner thigh muscles). A lot of what we work on as Women’s Health physios is making sure you’re using the right muscles, and then giving targeted strengthening exercises that are right for you.
- Your pelvic floor muscles may be too tight or overactive
People are often surprised to learn that it’s possible the pelvic floor muscles to be overactive or tight, which means that often these muscles are also weak. Imagine holding a dumbbell up all day. At the end of the day if you were then asked to pick up some heavy shopping bags, that arm would feel very fatigued and weak. This can happen with the pelvic floor muscles. If they are always working and switched on, it can be much more difficult to use them correctly when you really need them to. This is something a Women’s Health Physio can assess – you might need to work on being able to relax or “let the dumbbell go” before you can start strengthening.
- Strength may not be the issue
Sometimes for conditions like bladder leakage and prolapse, there are other issues underlying, like coordination of muscles, or there could be more to look into in terms of soft tissue and neuromuscular pathways. There may also be bad bladder/bowel habits or things you do in your everyday life that are contributing to the problem. This is something a Women’s Health Physio will help you to discover and treat. Like to know more about women’s health and how a women’s health physio can help you? If you’re experiencing pain you might like to read more here!
Here at Synergy Physio we love helping women with their health. We offer expertise in pelvic pain, SIJ pain and pregnancy related pain. If you’re not getting anywhere with your pelvic floor exercises, or want to know where to start to improve your pelvic health, book in with one of the Women’s Health Physios at Synergy Physio here! Collectively we offer you professional expertise and compassionate care.
Contact us today on 07 5448 3369 or simply book online
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