HEALTH AND WELLBEING
YOU & YOUR PELVIC FLOOR By Ally Burleigh Have you ever thought much about your pelvic floor? Probably not, right? Like breathing, it is one of those things we don’t think about until we notice something isn’t quite right. At Kangatraining we like to call our pelvic floor the “powerhouse” of our body, because it’s the centre of so much of what we do. Our pelvic floor muscles are located inside our pelvis between our tail bone (at the back) and the pubic bone (at the front). It controls our bowel and bladder movements and sexual sensations, as well as holds up our internal organs and pēpi/baby when hapū/pregnant. A lot of their job is done quietly in the background without us paying too much attention, and I think that’s where most of us go wrong...not paying them the attention they deserve. These muscles are working every time you do a wee, a poo, you cough, or jump. You use them when you hold in that wee you are so desperate to do, or forcefully push out that poo that doesn’t want to budge (this one isn’t good for it by the way), and when you are having sex. So do you see now why we call them the powerhouse of our body? Let’s talk about how we can look after them, how we can tell if something isn’t right, and what we can do about it. First off, let’s locate them. Take a few deep breaths in and out and next time you exhale I want you to squeeze like you are stopping a fart and holding in a wee, and then relax them. Did you do it? Those muscles that you just activated are your pelvic floor muscles, and what you just did is often called a kegel. Now, it’s all good and well to just tell people to do kegels everyday, but it’s really a bit more complex than that and it’s not going to be the fix all some people think it is. At Kangatraining we spend a bit of time in every class focusing on our breath, core engagement, posture, and relaxation, because all of these affect our pelvic floor in different ways. Just taking a moment to take in some deep breaths and letting your puku relax and hang out can be beneficial to your pelvic floor. There are a million things you could do to take care of your pelvic floor and I could go all day. One thing that everyone can do is to pay attention to their bowel and bladder habits. Making sure that we are eating enough fibre and drinking plenty of water so that we have frequent and soft bowel motions that require little to no straining to evacuate. Also making sure we aren’t forcing out urine; a good example of this is when we make ourselves go to the toilet, “just in case”. Another really important thing to consider is how
we return to exercise after having a baby. Not only do our pelvic muscles support a growing pēpe for 9 months, but it also experiences a great deal during a vaginal birth. Allowing our body, including our pelvic muscles, enough time post birth to fully recover before we literally jump back into exercise is super important. Not only have they physically carried the brunt of pregnancy, they have also been exposed to increased levels of hormones that can have an influence on them and their surrounding muscles and ligaments. For many, pregnancy and post birth is often when they start paying attention to their pelvic floor, and typically only because they are experiencing problems; problems such as bladder leakage, painful sex, constipation, or even the inability to hold in a fart. These are all common problems and are often joked about. You’ve all had a friend or family member tell you you’ll never be able to sneeze again without wetting yourself right? All this reiterates is how common it is for people to experience these issues after kids, but it doesn’t fix the problem. It is estimated that, post birth, 1 in 3 people experience leakage, 50% live with some degree of pelvic organ prolapse, and 1 in 5 report pain during sex. So if you experience any of these, or other symptoms, then you aren’t alone. But you do not have to put up with it for the rest of your life. The best thing you can do is speak to a health professional, and more specifically a pelvic floor specialist such as a women’s health physiotherapist. They will be able to correctly diagnose your issues and help you on your way to recovery. Your GP is also a good place to start if you are unsure who else to talk to and Continence NZ has some really useful resources on their website as well. And if you are trying to get back into exercise but are experiencing some of the symptoms above, Kangatraining is a safe way to get your body moving again and familiarise yourself with your pelvic floor. Coming in 2022, Palmy Kanga is also excited to launch pelvic floor specific workshops called PowerHouse where we help you connect to your pelvic floor better and incorporate safe movements into everyday life. Ally runs Kangatraining Palmerston North and has an interest in pelvic floor health. Kangatraining is a babywearing exercise class specifically designed for postnatal bodies, with an emphasis on pelvic floor health and abdominal separation. Ally is not a medical professional and recommends that anyone who experiences any of the symptoms above should seek professional help. ISSUE 302 . August | September 2021
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