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Your pelvic floor muscles form a sling like muscle and fibrous tissue that attach to your pubic bone at the front and your tailbone at the back. They also attach to the side walls of your pelvis, literally forming the ‘floor’ of your pelvis. The pelvic floor muscles help to support your pelvic organs – your bladder, uterus and rectum. SO a VERY important muscle, that must be strengthened EVERY DAY!

What happens if your pelvic floor muscles are weak?

  • leaking urine when you cough, sneeze or laugh
  • having trouble stopping ‘passing wind’
  • feeling like you can’t hold on when you need to empty your bladder or bowel
  • having to rush to the toilet for fear of having an accident
  • feeling heaviness or dragging in the vagina
  • reduced sensation during sexual intercourse

What can cause the pelvic floor muscles to become weak?

  • Stretching of the muscles and fibrous tissues during pregnancy and childbirth
  • Heavy lifting
  • Straining to go to the toilet – constipation
  • Being overweight
  • Persistent coughing or sneezing
  • Changing hormone levels, during pregnancy or menopause

How can you strengthen the pelvic floor muscles?

Imagine that you are trying to stop yourself from passing wind and tighten the muscles around your back passage. Now imagine you are trying to stop the flow of urine, or stop a tampon slipping out, and tighten those muscles. The feeling is a ‘squeeze and lift’. These are your pelvic floor muscles.

Do NOT

  • Hold your breath
  • Bear down

Some pelvic floor exercises:

Below is just a guide, so if you are having trouble with these exercises or worried about your pelvic floor muscles, it would be best to see a Physiotherapist that specialises in pelvic floor rehab.

  1. Squeeze and lift your pelvic floor muscles and hold tight for up to 10 seconds. Hold the contraction strongly as you count.
  2. Rest for 5 seconds, then squeeze and lift again. How many can you do? Repeat this 5-10 times. This tells you about the endurance of your pelvic floor muscles. It is also important for our muscles to be able to tighten quickly, when we cough or sneeze.
  3. Now do some short, fast contractions. Squeeze and lift, then release. Repeat 10 times.

Menopausal women should make a special effort to maintain the fitness of their pelvic floor as menopause may cause their muscles to change and weaken, possibly leading to incontinence and less enjoyment of sex

Women of all ages can enjoy a more satisfying sex life by doing pelvic floor exercises because a strong and healthy pelvic floor can heighten your sexual responsiveness

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  • Looking after your pelvic floor is the smartest thing any woman can do for her ongoing health.


    • The beauty of pelvic floor exercises is that they can be done anywhere.

    Reply

  • I used to do these exercises after bub arrived but a few years later you forget, I must get back to doing them.

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  • Keeping your pelvic floor muscles in tone is very important !! It tightens the vaginal walls. Myself being a Mum of 5 children often do my pelvic floor exercises.

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  • I had to have a hysterectomy a couple of years ago and they also took my cervix. Since the surgery Ive struggled when trying to do these exercises. I used to do them all the time and they were effortless but now i really have to focus and its hard. :(

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  • have you got any other simple exercises to do,

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  • Once you know how, it’s incredibly easy to do pelvic floor exercises at almost any time of the day. While you’re watching t.v., reading a book, on the bus, driving the car, any time is good. And it does make all the difference, as any woman who’s ever LSHABOWRDML (Laughed So Hard A Bit Of Wee Ran Down My Leg) will tell you.

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  • Great advice for all women especially those who have had children.

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  • Believe it or not I’d never even heard of pelvic floor muscles until I was pregant!

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  • thanks for the exercises, these will be helpful

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  • I try to remember to do them but, often forgets.


    • I either forget or lose motivation hehe.

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  • a good read, thank you for this information

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  • you know how important they are when you have a bub

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  • Fantastic advice I really need to strengthen mine!

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  • Wonderful advice, a very motivational article.

    Reply

  • It’s so important to remember to do these daily, find an activity like brushing your teeth that will remind you to do them every day

    Reply

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