Making your own individual treatment decision on how to treat your pelvic floor dysfunction will depend on your symptoms, what you have already tried, and what you have researched.  There is no doubt that there are success stories out there for all the treatment options available, including exercise-based rehabilitation of the pelvic floor, medication for symptom management, pessary use, and various surgical procedures.  It is not my job to speak out against any decision that you may choose, but it is my job to help make you more informed so that you can make a decision that is well thought … Continue Reading

Once you work through all of the workouts featured on our DVD, you will likely find a few that will be your “favorites” and that’s okay. The exercises we like best are the exercises we are most likely to stick with during our busy schedules.

My routine is doing my Kegels in the car while driving. I tend to do my Samuri Squats while in the shower, a balance exercise while brushing my teeth, and then I can usually get a bridging and plank exercise in when I am playing with the kids. Nevertheless, I recommend really learning the exercises thoroughly … Continue Reading

A common thought is that incontinence, or occasional urine leakage , is a normal part of aging.  Although it is true that the prevalence of incontinence increases with age, it is not considered normal to leak urine at any point in our lives.

It is important that we recognize incontinence as a symptom and not as a disease.  It is a symptom of bladder and/or pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.  There are many risk factors associated with this dysfunction including a history of smoking, pregnancy and childbirth, pelvic surgery, obesity, chronic cough, repetitive heavy lifting, neurogenic disease, hormone changes and more. 

Certainly as we … Continue Reading

Did you know that no matter what treatment option you choose for your pelvic floor dysfunction, it is always recommended that you follow up that treatment with an exercise program to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

If you choose surgery, it is important to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles following the procedure to support the work that was done and, hopefully, increase the length of time the sling or mesh may be effective.

If you choose a pessary device, you want to continue to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and monitor your posture to decrease your dependence on the device.  You may … Continue Reading

I thought I would write a bit about swimming because whether you are pregnant, just delivered, or well beyond those points in your life, swimming is a great exercise choice.  It is simply a fantastic way to get your heart rate up and strengthen muscles through non-impact activity.

I love this exercise choice because it promotes extension.  I have blogged extensively about the importance of working the muscles on the back side of our bodies.  If you think about it, everything that we do throughout our day is out in front of our body.  This tendency to work our flexors and … Continue Reading

There are many treatment options for incontinence.  One of these treatment options may be medication prescribed by your physician.  Let’s review the different classes of medication used for incontinence and how these medications treat the condition.

Anticholinergic drugs are used to treat incontinence. They act by blocking the chemical messenger, acetylcholine, which is responsible for stimulating bladder contractions.  The goal of anticholinergics is to limit the number of unwanted bladder contractions.

Topical estrogen is also used in the treatment of incontinence.  It is a cream that is applied directly to the vaginal and urethral tissue with the goal of increasing blood flow … Continue Reading

We have discussed, in depth, how important the transversus abdominus (TA) is to a maximum pelvic floor contraction.  These lower abdominal fibers that begin below our ribs and funnel down into our pelviscontract in coordination with the levator ani muscle of our pelvic floor.  The muscle fibers of our TA act like a corset as they wrap around our abdomen and pelvis instead of running up and down or at a diagonal like our other abdominal muscles.  Much like a corset, these fibers tighten, forcing the air within our abdomen and pelvis up under our ribs as we draw our … Continue Reading

Did you know that if you don’t extend your tail bone, your pelvic floor will never fire with optimal strength?  A tucked under tail bone takes our pelvic floor, which attaches at our tail bone and our pubic bone, and makes it slack.  And, over time, this loose muscle responds poorly and becomes weak because we are never able to fully activate all of the fibers because our two attachments sites are sitting too close together. 

If we extend our tail bone, giving it a slight lift, we put our pelvic floor muscles at the perfect length/tension ratio where it can … Continue Reading

The symptoms of incontinence can vary from person to person.  Some may experience minor leaking every once in awhile, while others may experience complete loss of bladder control daily.  There are also different kinds of incontinence, the two most common being “urge incontinence” and “stress incontinence.”  Let’s take a closer look at the differences between these two types of incontinence. 

We will first define “stress urinary incontinence.”  It is the involuntary loss of urine as a result of increased intra-abdominal pressure from activities such as laughing, coughing, sneezing, or jumping.

And the definition of “urge incontinence” is the involuntary loss of urine … Continue Reading

When I activate my Transversus Abdominus (TA), should it feel like I am holding my breath?

You may feel like holding your breath, but don’t allow yourself to do so!  Contracting your TA does lift your chest because when you do so, it’s like squeezing a snow cone – the most narrow part is down by your pelvic floor so it squeezes and displaces  the pressure up under your ribs, expanding and lifting your chest.  Remember, if you feel any bearing down or pressure forcing your pelvic floor down, you are activating the wrong muscle group.