Getting a stronger pelvic floor has been a lot of my client's desire lately and it's more than just kegels. As a pelvic floor physical therapist and mom myself, I speak from my own experience and treating the countless clients with weak pelvic floor muscles. The good news is that the pelvic floor is a group of MUSCLES, which means it can get STRONGER.
5 QUICK TIPS FOR IMPROVING PELVIC FLOOR STRENGTH
Improve Overall Body Strength: When your legs are strong, your upper body is strong, your core is strong...then your pelvic floor doesn't have to do all the work supporting our pelvic organs, spine and impact that we put it through regularly. Our pelvic floor muscles are on all the time, so let's support these muscles by getting stronger everywhere!
Learn How to do a Proper Kegel: A lot of women I talk to or treat have never been taught how to do a kegel and most aren't sure if they are doing it right to begin with. When you do a kegel you need to squeeze the holes shut (front to back) but also LIFT UP! This is where we really get stronger. Also, try to increase the amount of seconds you can hold a pelvic floor contraction. Start at 3 seconds...work up to 10 seconds! Start at 10 repetitions, increase up to 40x/day.
Incorporate Pelvic Floor Contractions into Daily Life: When you learn how to do a kegel aka activate your pelvic floor, it's helpful to practice this while you do daily things such as pick up your child, lift the carseat or bend to the floor to pick up laundry. This helps you get in more repetitions which helps the muscles get stronger and build the connection and awareness from our brain.
Focus on Hip Strength: Imagine that our hips are trees and the pelvic floor is a hammock...we NEED and DEPEND on the hip muscles for support. Some of my favorite exercises for getting stronger hips: hip thrusters, lateral band walks, bird-dogs, clamshells, step-ups, lateral lunges, side-lying hip abduction...there are SO many great exercises.
Improve Pelvic Floor Length: A strong muscles needs to be able to relax and lengthen just as much as it needs to contract and shorten. Make sure you're not dealing with tightness or tension in your pelvic floor that is limiting your ability to engage those muscles. Signs you may have tension or tightness: pain with intercourse or inserting a tampon, hip, low back or SI pain, leaking and difficulty feeling a kegel.
If you are dealing with incontinence, leaking, feeling weakness in your pelvic floor and core...then reach out today for a full assessment and individualized plan so you can start feeling like your old self today! email drcaitlin@engagepttn.com or text 615-982-4062. If you're newly postpartum, try my online program here to rebuild your pelvic floor and core.
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