Top Pelvic floor myth -Guest blog
MY GUEST BLOGGER STACEY SHARES HER KNOWLEDGE ON HOW TO STRENGTHEN & REPAIR YOUR PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES
Meet Stacey
Top Pelvic Floor Myth – Busted!
We’ve all heard that we need to be doing our ‘Kegel’ or pelvic floor exercises to control our bowel and bladder function, to prevent and treat prolapses and to treat painful pelvic disorders- which is 100% true. BUT, we are also told that doing our ‘Kegels’ when we think of it like at a traffic light, while brushing your teeth or in a grocery store line is a MYTH.
Our pelvic floor muscles are just like any other muscle in our body. They require the appropriate program to strengthen them. Take the bicep for example- to get the bicep stronger you don’t just pick up a weight every now and then and expect it to get stronger? You also can’t just pick up any weight. Imagine being a strong body builder and lifting a 5kg dumbbell expecting to get stronger- that would be crazy, right?! Well, the same rules apply for the pelvic floor.
So the trick is to find YOUR correct sets, reps and frequency. The best way to do this would be to get assessed by a women’s health physio or alternatively you can try assess it yourself. The easiest way to check you’re doing pelvic floor exercises correctly is by stopping the flow of your urine.* The muscles you are using are your pelvic floor muscles. Once you’ve understood the correct muscles to use you need to work out:
Your maxmimum holding time
Your maximum number of pelvic floor lifts continuously
With these numbers you can create a program around it. For example, if you had a max hold of 10 and frequency of 12 your program may look like:
HOLD- 5sec hold 3sets x 5 reps (2 x day)
ON/FF- 4sets x 8reps (2 x day)
If you’re still unsure if you’re doing the pelvic floor lifts correctly or have a bearing down feeling when you do it then I strongly suggest you get assessed by a physio.
*Make sure you only practice stopping your urine flow very occasionally as it can be problematic if done too often
