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

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

Can you remind me again about the posture I should hold when I am not carrying my little one?”

If yours is a tendency to lock your knees and tuck under, then find reminders throughout your day to essentially stick your butt out.  This is the gymnast posture and is extreme, but when you activate your Transversus Abdominus (TA) in this position, it will rock you back slightly to your neutral spine position.  Remember, stick your buns out – this will give better tension to your pelvic floor – and that is passive tension, not an active muscle squeeze.

My hip flexors are tight.  What is the best way to stretch them?

To stretch your hip flexors, spend atleast 5 minutes per day lying on your stomach playing with your little one.  You can also work your multifidi extensions in this position if you want.  This will passively stretch your hip flexors while you intermittently turn on your multifidi – a very important postural muscle.

I recently read through two different sites with the bloggers writing about how Kegels are worthless.  If I could delete these entries just as quick as I read them, I would so that it didn’t cause any more confusion for all of you searching for answers.  Do I agree that pelvic floor strengthening has been over-simplified – YES!  But to say that you don’t have to do another Kegel is simply not correct.  Our pelvic floor is a muscular area with the ability to tighten on the urethra (the pathway from the bladder to our urethral opening in our pelvic … Continue Reading

I have been told to exaggerate the curve of my lumbar spine, is this your neutral spine?

No. Neutral spine is a happy medium between the two extremes of the lumbar spine. It is a position that requires muscular control because we are not relying on bone-on-bone compression. Not to mention that if we exaggerate the lumbosacral curve, our spine has to balance out the curves which this leads to an exaggerated thoracic and/or cervical curve. To a physical therapist, this means that the shoulders are forward and there is decreased room for chest/lung expansion (this is bad … Continue Reading

I recently received a request to review optimal sitting posture, as one of our subscribers noted she sits quite a bit throughout her day. So let’s review…

To give your pelvic floor optimal support while sitting you want to sit on chairs that position your hips slightly higher than your knees. This takes the hamstring tension off your pelvis, allowing it to rock forward to a more neutral position with ease. In many chairs you can achieve this by sliding forward. Getting your buns to the front edge of the chair will help drop your knees down … Continue Reading

Since January is the month for resolutions, let’s resolve to take back control of our continence. What will it take? As with all resolutions – it will take commitment and consistency. Here’s our plan:

Make a commitment to 8 pelvic floor lift and holds per day. This is a 2-step exercise. Elevation of your pelvic floor is the tough part of a pelvic floor contraction. The easy step is to squeeze your sphincter muscles as if to stop the flow of urine or the passing of gas. The tough part, and possibly the most … Continue Reading

How do you know if you have a prolapse? Some urogynocologists go as far as to say that every woman will experience some degree of prolapse in their lives. A prolapse? What exactly is it, what causes it, what can I do to prevent it or resolve it? I wanted to use this blog to talk about all of these questions surrounding prolapse because so many of us have or will experience the symptoms.

Let’s take it one question at a time. What does a prolapse feel like? For some it may feel like a soft, round … Continue Reading