Relaxing is a good thing. With all the hustle of chasing after the American dream, it’s essential to set aside a little time to relax.
That’s not the kind of relaxing we’re going to talk about in this post. While your busy life requires a little down time, your pelvic floor is an entirely different story. In fact, if that is relaxing, you probably aren’t feeling very relaxed at all!
Pelvic Floor Relaxation
Your pelvic floor muscles are essential for proper bladder, bowel, and sexual health. Various circumstances can contribute to those muscles relaxing including childbirth, excess weight, heavy lifting, and aging. When the muscles are forced into relaxation, you could experience pain, discomfort, and pelvic floor disorders.
These disorders include:
- Painful urination
- Feeling that the bladder is never quite empty
- Urinary incontinence: little or no control of the bladder
- Fecal incontinence: leakage or loss of bowel control
- Constipation or discomfort during bowel movements
- Pelvic organ prolapse: the uterus, bladder, or bowel may push the vagina creating a bulge through the vaginal canal
- Progressive aging
The good news is, no matter the cause of your pelvic floor relaxation, there are ways to fight it!
Pelvic Floor Strengthening
Whether or not you’re currently experiencing pelvic floor relaxation, these simple exercises are good for you! It’s always a wise idea to build up your muscles for the sake of health, and the pelvic muscles are no different. The following exercises are not only simple, but they can be done in the comfort of your own home.
Kegels
These well-known exercises are incredibly easy to implement as they can be done basically anywhere. To practice Kegels, locate your pelvic floor muscles, squeeze them for five seconds, then relax for five seconds. This completes one repetition. Work toward doing 30 repetitions a day, twice a day. For best results, do ten reps while sitting, ten while lying down, and ten while standing. But 30 reps while you’re sitting at your desk everyday works just fine!
Strength
Various exercises done while lying down have been found to be very beneficial. The following three exercises can be found in more detail at Health.com.
- Knee Folds: lying on your back with your feet on the floor and your knees bent, slowly lower one knee to the floor and bring it back up. Focus on your pelvic muscles as you work.
- Toe Taps: still on your back, lift your legs up to a tabletop position. Alternate legs, hinging from the hip, bringing your toes down to the floor and back up.
- Hip Bridges: return your feet to the floor with knees bent, then bring your hipbones toward the sky, engaging your abs and pelvic floor as you slowly lift and lower.
Yoga
While practicing just about any yoga move, you can engage your pelvic floor by doing Kegels simultaneously. But there are a handful of poses that are particularly helpful for beating pelvic floor relaxation while promoting mind relaxation! Prevention.com has the details you’ll need to practice:
- Malasana
- Reclined Bound Angle
- Legs Up the Wall
- Child’s Pose
Pelvic Floor Solution
These exercises are a valuable solution in the aiding and prevention of pelvic muscle disorders, but they take time. It could take up to six weeks of faithful exercise to begin to notice any real change. Stay the course! You are developing the healthy resistance needed to maintain proper urinary and bowel health.
If you have questions or concerns related to pelvic floor relaxation, or any other urological issues, please contact our office at Urology Associates of South Bend. We have a professional, experienced, and friendly team of urologists to help you as you fight against this occurrence.