THE FEMALE PELVIC FLOOR

In this blog I will introduce the strengths and weaknesses of the female pelvic floor.

Many women are confronted with considering the condition of their pelvic floor either during, or after pregnancy, and after midlife.

FUNCTIONS

Our pelvic floor is a multitasker. It has to fulfil a variety of contradictory demands. On the one hand it needs to provide a supportive base for the pelvic organs, on the other it needs to be flexible and move in sync with other physical motions like breathing, coughing and walking as well as balance our centre of gravity.

Moreover it also has to allow for controlled opening and resealing of three body openings. Since men have only two openings their pelvic floor is not as inherently challenged as the pelvic floor of women. Unfortunately even for women who have never been pregnant it is possible to suffer from a prolapsed uterus!

ANATOMY

The pelvic floor consist of a number of muscular slings that connect the bones of the pelvis with each other and essentially forms a hammock like structure, that can be pulled up and forward a bit when we tense the pelvic floor muscles. This lift and slight compression reduces the risk of any of the organs in the small pelvis prolapsing.

The nerves supplying the bulk of the pelvic floor muscles, called the levator ani muscles, lie primarily on top of the muscles that they supply this means they are vulnerable to injury during complicated births and surgical interventions.

The pelvic floor also receives input from both sides of the spinal cord, meaning that it’s left and right half can differ in tone and strength.

PROBLEMS

In practise I find that the majority of people have unequal pelvic floor tone. This is often related to pelvic asymmetries. One side of the pelvis moves forward with respect to the other one. This puts this side in a structurally more unstable position and as a result the pelvic floor on the affected side is generally tighter and weaker. This asymmetry between the right and left side of the pelvic floor already compromises its complicated tasks.

Further factors that commonly affect the integrity of the pelvic floor:

- congenital connective tissue weakness

- pregnancy

- vaginal birth

- old age

- obesity

- heavy lifting

- trauma to the sacrum/coccyx

- history of low back and sacroiliac joint problems

- inflammatory conditions of the pelvic organs (UTI, STD, PID)

- abdominal or pelvic surgery

- leg length discrepancies

A compromised pelvic floor will not be able to respond as quickly and efficiently to the demands placed on it, which in turn will further weaken it.

Some of the undesirable effects of a weakened pelvic floor are can be:

- leaking

- reduced sexual pleasure

- inability to carry on with high impact sports

- haemorrhoids

- organ prolapse

- chronic sacro-iliac joint (SIJ) and low back pain

TREATMENT OPTIONS

An osteopath can check your pelvis and pelvic floor for imbalance and treat underlying problems of the musculoskeletal systems as well as internal organ adhesions and displacements. This will get you in a better condition to exercise your pelvic floor and will also maintain the health of your spine and pelvis overall.

Seeing a pelvic floor rehab specialist you can learn how to apply pelvic floor exercises in the right and most effective way to get the desired lift and forward movement of the pelvic organs.

TIPS

Get already checked before you are planning to get pregnant to sustain minimal damage to your pelvic floor during pregnancy.

Getting osteopathic treatment of your pelvis also increases your chances of conception as it helps to normalise the nerve and blood supply to your reproductive organs.