Pelvic floor insufficiency can affect anyone, regardless of sex or gender. Obesity, chronic constipation, pregnancy, childbirth, and prostate cancer treatment can all put a strain on the muscles of the pelvic floor and potentially cause them to weaken over time. Fortunately, there are treatments available to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. Physical therapy Murrieta is a first-line treatment for problems related to pelvic floor insufficiency.
Pelvic Wellness: Strengthening From Within
There is a lot of misinformation out there about pelvic floor insufficiency. Often, when you look up pelvic floor exercises, you see pictures of models doing bridge exercises: lying on their backs with their knees bent and their feet flat on the ground to elevate their hips into the air. Bridging is a fine exercise to strengthen the abdominal muscles, and it makes a good visual, but unfortunately, it doesn’t actually do much to strengthen the pelvic floor.
The most common technique to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor is the Kegel exercise, which involves first isolating the muscles and then contracting and relaxing them in a series of sets and reps. Kegel exercises are subtle; they don’t make for a striking visual image as bridging does.
Once you learn how to do Kegel exercises, they are fairly easy. However, isolating the muscles of the pelvic floor can be very difficult. You may think that you are contracting your pelvic floor muscles, but you are actually just contracting your abdominals, which will not help your symptoms.
Sometimes people tell you to try to stop the stream while you are urinating to locate your pelvic floor muscles. However, this can be dangerous because it can prevent you from completely emptying your bladder.
Physical therapy Vista can teach you how to locate the muscles of your pelvic floor and perform Kegel exercises safely and effectively. If it turns out that your condition requires a treatment other than Kegel exercises, your physical therapist can make that assessment as well.
The Importance of Pelvic Health
“Do I even need physical therapy near me for pelvic insufficiency?” you may be wondering. “Isn’t it just a normal part of aging?” Pelvic floor weakness may be common, especially among older adults, but that doesn’t mean it is normal.
The muscles of the pelvic floor support the organs of your lower abdomen, including the bowel, bladder, and reproductive organs. Pelvic floor weakness can lead to incontinence of the bladder or bowels, an unsanitary and potentially embarrassing condition. Weakness of the pelvic floor muscles can also cause pain while urinating, defecating, or while participating in sexual intercourse.
Restoring pelvic floor strength through physical therapy can lead to less pelvic pain and restoration of sexual function. It can give you better control over your bowel and bladder so that you don’t have leaks. Strengthening the pelvic floor can reduce the risk of prolapse of these organs, a serious condition that may require surgery to correct.
By treating your pelvic floor dysfunction with physical therapy, you may be able to avoid taking medications or having surgery, treatments that can have adverse side effects or complications. Ask your doctor to refer you to a physical therapist who treats dysfunction of the pelvic floor.
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