Pelvic Floor Easily, Breezily Explained
Have you ever noticed that when you get a new car, everyone on the road suddenly has your same car? It’s the same way with trends and buzzwords; it seems like they arise overnight and then appear all over print, screen, and speech. The concept of “connecting with the pelvic floor” seems to be one of those overnight sensations. I do not think this is bad, it’s actually very good, and in fact, I applaud all things pelvic floor. I embrace the importance of working with our pelvic muscles not only in medicine, yoga, and fitness but in everyday life. Remember when the word CORE was the ‘It’ word? It still is, but now we know the concept of the core is not just the abdominals and spinal muscles… now we know it actually starts below the waist, with the pelvic floor
Male and female humans are born with pelvic floor muscles. Like most muscles in the body, they strengthen with work and conditioning and weaken or atrophy with disuse (lack of use). The pelvic floor (PF) is positioned from the base of the spine to the base of the pubic bone. The sides of the floor are at the inner hips. The muscles form a basin-like sling; think of a round hammock-shaped configuration of muscles, ligaments, and fascia. Because the sling is connected to the bones of the pelvis and shaped like a basin, it is a perfect container of support for our organs and internal structures.
Due to the close proximity of the internal organs, spine, and hips, the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) have a myriad of functions.
The PF works to:
Control bladder and bowel continence
Support the pelvic organs
Support the low back, buttocks, and hips; and work with these muscles for proper alignment to avoid hip and back pain
Support sexual health and function
Support the spine and its alignment for mobility as we move through space.
Create a sense of support and grounding as a basis for emotional and spiritual well-being
More fun facts about PFM
PFM work in conjunction with – and give support to – the deep abdominal muscles. In fact, the transverse abdominis muscle, or the ‘inner spanx,’ involuntarily contracts with a PFM contraction when done correctly.
Good PFM strength and length go hand in hand. To that point, training the PF is not just about doing Kegel exercises. PFM that are too taut can pull and strain on the pelvic ligaments and bone and cause low back pain, coccyx pain, and pain during sexual activity. Check out out the graphic in this article on how just doing tightening exercises without proper relaxation and stretch can increase PF pain and associated musculoskeletal issues.
PFM weakness or tightness can significantly contribute to the low back, sacroiliac, sacral, groin, piriformis, and iliopsoas pain¹.
Strengthening the PF properly can prevent or reduce pelvic organ prolapse by giving support against the gravitational pull of the pelvic organ.
