Pelvic Floor Problems - the Silent Epidemic

Hi Ladies,

There is a subject that I regularly get asked question on so I thought it would make a good topic for this weeks blog - Pelvic Floor Problems - the silent epidemic!

As most of my clients can testify, I recommend doing lots of "bottom toning" exercises to assist with improving your pelvic floor function rather than Kegels, for both pregnant and postnatal clients, and here is why:

• The pelvic floor is NOT designed to work in isolation.

• Doing isolated Kegels to an already tight set of pelvic floor muscles will only make it tighter, weaker and looser.  We want our pelvic floors to be strong and flexible.

• Doing movement-based pelvic floor exercise is 75% more effective than doing a Kegel alone.

• Sitting for prolonged periods tightens the pelvic floor muscles due to our tendency to "tuck" our tailbone under, therefore shortening the muscle.          
• The stronger the gluteal muscles, the stronger the pelvic floor as it helps keep our tailbone in correct alignment.

The YouTube clip below explains brilliantly the relationship between strenghtening your pelvic floor and glutes.

So the first thing to sort out is our posture.  Ideally you should be aiming to draw a straight line from your earlobe through your shoulder, hip knee, to the middle of your ankle (from a side on position)  Please refer to my previous post about posture if you require any more explanation of this.

But what sort of exercises can you do to help build that bum?

• Squats
• Lunges
• Curtsey lunges
• Calf raises
• Side step (with resistance band)
• Side lying leg raises
• Glute raises
• Glute bridges (postnatal only)

The list goes on and on!  If you are finding that these aren't intense enough add some weights or try a resistance band to really feel the burn!  And remember BRACE that core!

Good luck!

Aileen x