What is the pelvic floor?
SO! What is the pelvic floor??
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles shaped like a bowl in the pelvis. It spans from the pubic bone in the front to the tail bone in the back and from sit bone to sit bone. It is intricately connected to the hip, core, and low back. I often refer to it as part of your core or part of your foundation. Just like any other muscle group in the body it has the ability to contract, release, and lengthen.
@mypfm www.mypfm.com
The pelvic floor has a few roles:
Support
You can imagine the pelvic floor like a hammock. The pelvic floor is supporting our organs and is also apart of our structural support. If it is too loose OR even too tight it will not feel or be very supportive or comfortable. If the hammock is tight on one end and loose on the other… again… not super supportive. Same thing for our pelvic floor it needs to have a healthy tension and tone so it can provide more comfortable support.
Symptoms you may experience include; hip pain, back pain, pelvic pain, a feeling of heaviness, ache in the pelvic floor, or a feeling like a tampon is falling out of your vagina or rectum.
Continence Control
For this let’s imagine the pelvic floor like a trampoline. If the springs of our trampoline are too tight imagine how jarring and abrupt that is… if the springs of the trampoline are too loose.. well then, its not very good at catching you. For continence control, we need to have a pelvic floor that gently yields to poop and allows for pee to be released. If it is too tense/tight it might be hard to release and maybe give your brain mixed signals! If it is too loose, it might not be able to maintain the liquids, gases and solids inside.
Symptoms you may experience include; constipation, leakage of gas, leakage of urine, leakage of poop, urgency, sensation of burning/pain while pooping and/or peeing, or frequent urination (more than 8 times per day).
Sexual Function
This is one of my favorite conversations, because it is so taboo. Our culture does not support body literacy when it comes to sexual function. Especially for vulva owners, it is one of the most misunderstood topics. Our pelvic floor needs to be able to relax and expand for painless penetration and then to be able to tighten and relax for blood flow to enter the space and improve sensation. Our pelvic floor can contract and relax up to 10-15 times during an orgasm! Okay, also, our clitoris has around 8,000 nerve endings and has the same anatomical shape as the penis! Whaaa? So if we are ignoring the clitoris or if the stimulation of the clitoris is like someone trying to DJ the thing…that might not be helping arousal. Also remember, the pelvic floor wraps around the clitoris, so we want a pelvic floor that is helping to pump blood into the clitoris as it becomes engorged. A healthy pelvic floor when it comes to sexual function is one that is responsive, not just tight.
Symptoms you may experience include; pain with penetration (deep or superficial), pain with orgasm, inability to experience an orgasm, or decreased pleasure.
In summary, the pelvic floor is pretty amazing. It needs to be responsive to the task at hand… whether that is yielding under load (eg. birth), reacting to impact (eg. jump/run), moving with you during your squat, supporting you under load (eg. pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying), relaxing and contracting to improve sensation (eg. intercourse or intimacy).
Know that if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, have questions/concerns about experiences, or are just curious about connecting to your pelvic floor and becoming more body literate you are welcome to reach out to me by clicking the link below, emailing me, calling, or texting me!
Is pelvic floor therapy right for you?
In health,
Dr. Emma Lengerich PT, DPT, OCS, CMTPT, Birth Doula
