Bladder Gone Rogue? Time to Train Your Pelvic Floor!

In its three strong and mobile layers, the pelvic floor provides support and assistance for essential functions like urination, defecation and sexual intercourse. This essential, yet often neglected, part of our body stretches front to back, hanging at the bottom of our pelvis like a hammock. Similar to a hammock, it adapts dynamically to allow for movement throughout the body while continuing to provide support to our internal organs. If the pelvic floor begins to sag or overstretch in one portion or another, we can start to see shifts in its function. Examples of these types of strains include the added weight of a baby during pregnancy or fecal matter with chronic constipation. The resulting strain on the pelvic floor can create an altered synergy in the way the pelvic floor activates to alleviate a full bowel or bladder. In other words, the pelvic floor must maintain the right amount of tension to allow for proper timing of pooping and peeing. 

The pelvic floor muscles can get weak as a result of increased weight in the body, pregnancy, sitting too long, high impact activity, hormonal shifts and chronic constipation. Weakness in the pelvic floor changes the way you sense how full your bladder is. 

Maybe this sounds familiar: You pee before leaving the house but no matter how fast your errand happens to be, by the time you arrive at your location, you have to pee again, with urgency as if you will pee your pants if you don’t get to the toilet in time. You see, the pelvic floor serves to keep the urine from spilling out of your body, but when it is weak, you are constantly receiving a signal from the bladder that urine is leaking, creating overactivity of the bladder and a constant need to pee. Essentially, the weakness in your pelvic floor is creating a false signal that is making it hard for you to live your life without peeing your pants.

This is just one example of how a weakness in the pelvic floor can alter your quality of life. Pelvic floor dysfunction can also be a result of increased tension, causing gastrointestinal discomfort and can even result in IBS. More on that soon, I promise.  

Until then, talk about your pelvic floor to your providers if you may be having any symptoms that resemble these! Far too often, we think of this part of our bodies as being something we cannot discuss, but our pelvic floor is truly magical. It gives life, it gives support and it gives relief. What more can we ask for really. 

With love-Rupal