
Your pelvic floor muscles lie inside the pelvic bones
WHAT do my pelvic floor muscles do?
Stop you from leaking urine or stool
Helps with urine leakage by closing the wee tube (urethra)
Stops stool leaking by helping the anal canal to maintain good closure pressures
Maintain normal sexual function
Part of the clitoral organ lies within the pelvic floor musculature. Therefore, dysfunction of the pelvic floor can affect a woman’s ability to orgasm. Having optimal pelvic floor health can assist in improving intimacy for a woman.
Help support your pelvic organs – bladder, uterus and bowel
The pelvic floor acts like a hammock or trampoline sitting underneath your organs, providing support for your organs in times of high physical load and throughout life
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HOW do I activate my pelvic floor muscles?
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Below are a few cues to help you activate your pelvic floor muscles:
Back passage
Imagine you are holding wind in, or squeeze your anal sphincter and lift up and in
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Middle passage
Imagine you’re lifting a scarf up through your vagina to your heart, or squeeze your labia closed and lift up and in
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Front passage
Imagine you’re holding in the urge to go wee, or nodding your clitoris or retracting the clitoris inside you
HOW MANY should I be able to do?
3 sets of 10 repetitions of 10 second holds in standing
HOW OFTEN
Daily or bring them in when you lift –
In this way you are doing them functionally throughout every day.Pelvic floor safe exercises?
Pelvic floor safe exercise are completely woman dependant
Pelvic health Melbourne recommends each woman has a pelvic health assessment to reliably define what are the safe and unsafe pelvic floor exercises for you.
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Pelvic Floor dysfunction?
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Weak pelvic floor muscles
Possible signs and symptoms of weak pelvic floor include:
Urine leakage when you cough / sneeze/ lift or jump
Vaginal wind
Difficulty holding a tampon in place
Difficulty holding in wind
Bowel urgency -
Overactive pelvic floor muscles
Possible signs and symptoms of an overactive pelvic floor include:
Incomplete emptying of bladder and or bowel
Pain with intimacy either on entry or with deep penetration
Pain is often felt in the lower abdominal region