Do You Have Back Pain or Core Weakness?
Many people complain of back pain that they can’t seem to get rid of. Standing or walking for long periods of time causes pain. You have tried those lumbar pillows for posture, or tried to work out more to strengthen your back due to “bad posture,” or you have even tried core stabilization exercises. These things might have worked temporarily, but have you looked at a different source for your pain? There are many things that can contribute to back pain, and pelvic floor weakness may one of your issues. Even if you do not have back pain, but experience urinary incontinence, pelvic pain or other pelvic floor problems, these exercises may be for you. Pelvic floor exercises are a good addition to your everyday life and can contribute to improved posture, decreased back pain or pelvic pain, and increase your enjoyment during sexual activity.
Your Pelvic Floor
Believe it or not, you have muscles down there. The pelvic floor is compose of several muscles that surround and control the sphincters of your urethra, vagina, and anus. The pelvic floor, also known as your pelvic diaphragm, supports the position of your pelvic organs (bladder, intestines, uterus.)
These muscles attach to your coccyx (the most inferior bone of your spinal column) and can affect your lower back posture.
Why It Is Weak
There are many factors that can weaken your pelvic floor muscles, from pregnancy and childbirth, to aging and being overweight, or even having a chronic cough. This may allow your pelvic organs to descend and bulge into your vagina — a condition known as pelvic organ prolapse. This condition is specific to females. The effects of pelvic organ prolapse range from uncomfortable pelvic pressure to leakage of urine. Pelvic organ prolapse doesn’t have to happen. Kegel exercises can help delay or even prevent pelvic organ prolapse and the related symptoms.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
These exercises are commonly knowns as Kegel exercises, after Dr. Arnold Kegel. Kegels are isometric exercises that strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
Find the right muscles. Insert a finger inside your vagina and try to squeeze the surrounding muscles. You should feel your vagina tighten and your pelvic floor move upward. Men or women can also try placing a finger on your perineum to feel for an external contraction. Then relax your muscles and feel your pelvic floor return to the starting position. You can also try to stop the flow of urine when you urinate. If you succeed, you’ve got the basic move. Don’t make a habit of starting and stopping your urine stream, though. Doing Kegel exercises with a full bladder or while emptying your bladder can actually weaken the muscles, as well as lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder — which increases the risk of a urinary tract infection.
Perfect your technique. Once you’ve identified your pelvic floor muscles, empty your bladder and sit or lie down. Contract your pelvic floor muscles, hold the contraction for five seconds, then relax for five seconds. Try it four or five times in a row. You can work on different rhythms, quick and slow, or with varied intensity. Work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.Maintain your focus. For best results, focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.Repeat three times a day. Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day. You might make a practice of fitting in a set every time you do a routine task, such as checking email, during red lights commuting to work, preparing meals, or commercial breaks during TV.Coordinate with your breathing. Take a full breath in and let it out completely; the more you relax prior to doing Kegels, especially when first trying to figure them out, the more you will be in touch with the sensations you experience. Take another full breath in, letting your tummy expand out-this is important. It is natural for most of us to contract our tummies when breathing in and you may need to retrain this habit. As you let the air out, let your tummy go flat and slowly contract the muscle that causes the same sensation as when you stop the flow of pee, contracting it as tightly as you can.*BONUS* Use a kegel exercise device. You can also experiment with kegel exercise devices to see if it works well for you.The theories of Feldenkrais can also be applied to pelvic floor exercises. Create awareness of your body through your movements.
2 Comments
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Hey this is a cool post. I just had to comment because I was told by my psychology professor in college this is a good exercise to intensify your sensation during sex. I’m not sure if it’s true though. However I do wonder if this exercise should be done or naturally occurs when females do high impact exercises such as those high jumps during Insanity…
Hi Amy! Thanks for commenting. It is true that you can heighten your sexual experience with these exercises as they make the muscles stronger. You also bring up a great point. These exercises are incredibly important for athletes or people who do high impact sports, as they might experience increased internal pressures from jumping and landing. Sometimes people or athletes experience urinary incontinence with jumping, and this can be prevented or improved with pelvic floor exercises.