pelvic floor exercises
say goodbye to discomfort and welcome the confidence you deserve!
For many years I thought that pelvic floor exercises are for pregnant women or those who had babies until I learnt that a normal number of peeing is 5 – 7 times per day and realised that I would reach that number before 11 am on most days…
I believed that doing more tightening exercises will help but I didn’t realise that my muscles were not able to completely relax to fully empty my bladder and that’s why I needed the trip to the toilet every half an hour.
I remember hearing as a kid before leaving the house, kindergarten or school ”go pee, there will be no toilet later” and being very nervous trying to squeeze at least a few drops.
These situations made me hypersensitive to my bladder and my pelvic floor was not trained to hold a heavier bladder. It was making me anxious. I couldn’t stop thinking about the toilet the moment I left the house and I knew the locations of all the toilets in my area.
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I am really glad I learnt that it wasn’t normal because I know now it would only get worse with age.
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I stopped being jealous when I learnt that this extreme was not good either as this can overstretch the bladder and lead to a leaking bladder later in life.
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Like all the other muscles the pelvic floor should be able to contract and relax and it should have a good range of motion.
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Not being able to relax the pelvic floor completely may lead to bloating, constipation or even low back pain.
The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that form a hammock-like structure at the base of the pelvis. These muscles are responsible for supporting the organs in the pelvic region, including the bladder, uterus and rectum.
They should be able to keep us dry and stop us from leaking urine, stools or wind.
They should be able to relax when we are using the toilet so we can fully empty our bladders and bowels. (Not being able to completely relax the pelvic floor may lead to bloating, constipation, lower back pain and sexual pain).
If your symptoms are not getting better after doing those exercises from the video below for a couple of weeks visit your doctor or women’s health physiotherapist.
A physio will examine if you’re doing the exercise properly and will design a program that will work for you.