The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that support your bladder, bowels, uterus, and prostate. It helps you control your urine and stool, and plays a role in sexual function.
But sometimes, these muscles can become too tight or weak, causing pelvic floor dysfunction. This condition can make it hard to empty your bladder or bowels, or lead to pain, leakage, and other problems.
There are many factors that can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction, such as pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, aging, obesity, trauma, or chronic constipation. It can also run in families or be linked to other conditions like interstitial cystitis or irritable bowel syndrome.
The good news is that pelvic floor dysfunction can be treated without surgery, usually with a combination of biofeedback, physical therapy, and medications. These treatments can help you relax and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and improve your symptoms.
Pregnancy can cause the pelvic floor muscles to weaken and overstretch, childbirth and in particular assisted vaginal births can exacerbate the issue. A weak pelvic floor can result in:
- Bladder leakage
- Stress incontinence
- An urge to urinate frequently
- Pain during intercourse
- Pelvic organ prolapse
A women’s heath physiotherapist can guide you on pregnancy safe exercises that will strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. When it comes to strengthening your pelvic floor, it is much better to start in pregnancy than wait until after childbirth.
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