Pelvic Floor

Exercising your pelvic floor before and during pregnancy should be a top priority for expectant mothers. However, it's no surprise if you approach the intimate exercise with caution. Firstly, it's important to know which muscles you should be exercising. If you are unsure on how to locate your pelvic floor muscles, head over to our How To Find Your Pelvic Floor Muscles page.

Besides being good for you and your baby, working out during pregnancy can leave you feeling more energised. Read on to learn about the different exercises you should be doing throughout the course of your pregnancy.

How Do You Exercise Your Pelvic Floor During Pregnancy?

Kegels (otherwise known as pelvic floor exercises) are the leading prevention and treatment for all pelvic floor disorders. Despite their popularity, a Kegel8 study revealed that 50% of women...

Deciding that you are ready to have a baby is a big step for you both mentally and physically, and getting your body ready for the event should be your top priority. The muscles of the pelvic floor work tirelessly during pregnancy; supporting the weight of your growing uterus, maintaining your posture, and gently rotating your baby into the correct birth position.

How Will Pregnancy Affect Your Pelvic Floor?

Your pelvic floor is pushed to its limits during pregnancy and becomes weakened as a result. It's not uncommon to feel discomfort as the muscles are extremely vulnerable due to the extra pressure placed on your abdomen. If you are not prepared and your pelvic floor muscles are weak, you are likely to become one of the many women that suffer from pelvic floor disorders during and after pregnancy. Conditions include:

• Urinary incontinence
• Bowel...

Experiencing pregnancy is one of the most challenging and rewarding processes to go through as a woman. With all the changes that you experience both emotionally and physically, it's no surprise that your pelvic floor is not exempt! In fact, the pelvic floor muscles help to rotate your baby's head into the correct birthing position, whilst also supporting the weight of the growing uterus.

Contents

1. Preparing for Pregnancy

• Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor
• Safe Pelvic Floor Exercises During Pregnancy
• TENS...

A total hysterectomy is the irreversible removal of the uterus (womb) and cervix through surgery. It is carried out to treat a variety of female reproductive issues, such as:

• Unbearable pelvic pain
• Otherwise untreatable heavy periods (menorrhagia)
• Fibroids - benign (non-cancerous) tumours
• Gynecologic cancer - of the female reproductive organs including the ovaries, uterus and cervix
• Endometriosis - a painful condition where...

Obesity levels have risen over 20% in men and over 25% in women during the past 40 years. It is no secret that carrying excess body weight is detrimental to your health. But did you know the impact it has on your pelvic floor? Studies show the likelihood of developing urinary incontinence increases by 7-12% for each 1kg/m² unit increase in BMI.

"The skeleton is perfectly designed to cope with a healthy weight. But if you're excessively heavy or obese, hips, knees and ankles may all suffer. Excess weight can be particularly damaging to your pelvic floor, which supports all of your crucial internal organs." Tam Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum.

As our pelvic floor is out of sight, it is difficult to self-diagnose its condition. However being aware of the symptoms that suggest you have a weak pelvic floor can allow you to begin treatment early. Forget your misconceptions; it is not just older women that experience problems associated with a weak pelvic floor. You may be in your teens or early twenties and experience some of the tell tale signs that your pelvic floor has weakened.

The three most common issues that occur as a result of a weak pelvic floor are:

• Urinary incontinence - Inability to control urine flow.
• Faecal incontinence - Inability to control bowel movements.
• Pelvic organ prolapses - The movement of a pelvic organ out of its natural place, it droops (prolapses) into the vagina or rectum...

When it comes to bladder weakness and incontinence, many people suffer in silence too uncomfortable to tell anyone. One US study reported that on average women wait 6.5 years and men 4.2 years after beginning to experience their symptoms before they seek advice. The ramifications of this delay on both physical and emotional well-being is immense. High levels of depression are noted amongst sufferers.

So, what causes the bladder to stop functioning correctly, and leaking when it shouldn't?

Common causes include pregnancy/childbirth and ageing with twice as many women suffering than men. Between 25-30% of women aged between 45 and 65 are thought to suffer with some form of incontinence. However, Urge Incontinence is said to affect the same amount of men as women, reaching as many as 40%. The NHS estimates that between three and six million...

Incontinence remains a taboo topic of conversation, with many sufferers too embarrassed to broach the subject with a doctor.. In a 2004 US survey, it was reported that on average women wait 6.5 years and men 4.2 years after beginning to experience their symptoms to seek advice^[1].  Currently it estimated that there are three-six million people in the UK with some form of incontinence, with between 25-30% of women aged between 45 and 65 thought to suffer^{[2] [3]}. Avoidance tactics due to embarassment often result in anxiety, depression and even impact on overall physical health.