Ep 02: Do you Pee When you Workout? How to Train your Pelvic Floor

Listen on iTunes Listen on Stitcher What is the pelvic floor? The pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles at the bottom of our pelvis that is responsible for keeping our organs from falling out. Both men and women have one. Signs of pelvic floor dysfunction… - incontinence (peeing when you workout) - lack of sexual satisfaction - pelvic organ prolapse Causes of pelvic floor dysfunction… - Childbirth - Muscle imbalance (too much or too little tone) The pelvic floor, breath and core… On the inhale, the diaphragm contracts decreasing pressure in the abdominal area and the pelvic floor relaxes. On the exhale, the diaphragm relaxes increasing pressure in the abdominal area and the pelvic floor and abdominals (TVA) contract. When this doesn’t happen we’re more prone to getting core dysfunction, back pain and pelvic floor problems. How to train the pelvic floor and should we do Kegels? There was a Cochran review (read gold standard, evidence based) study about Kegels that found that Kegels are effective to for training the pelvic floor. Doing a Kegel with other exercises could potentially yield an even better result, but this hasn’t been studied yet. Cuing for a Kegel: Imagine your pelvic floor like a 10 story building. On the inhale, let the elevator drop to the basement. On the exhale, lift the pelvic floor up to level 2 or 3 out of 10. On the inhale bring it back to the basement. This can be done lying on your back or sitting. If you’re having prolapse or a lot of pelvic floor dysfunction, it may be easier to do while lying down. If you have a hyperonic pelvic floor focus on letting it turn off. If you have a hypotonic pelvic floor, you want to focus on turning it on. How to do a Kegel in a squat: The highest pelvic floor activation is at the bottom of the squat, so you can think about engaging your pelvic floor as you go down and releasing it as you stand up out of the squat. Links Mentioned: Dr. Bruce Crawford Pfilates Method Judith Aston Pelvic Floor Blog Janet’s studio for pelvic floor training (ask for Angela or Janet)