The pelvic floor muscles are like a hammock located between your legs, running from your pubic bone at the front to the base of your spine at the back. They hold your pelvic organs (uterus, vagina, bowel and bladder) in place. The pelvic floor muscles relax at the same time as the bladder contracts (tightens) to let urine out. Your pelvic floor is also connected directly to your entire core system and also inner and outer thighs. Working and understanding your core properly can also help you mentally activate your pelvic floor, and in turn help to tone it up!
Pear Projects Studio
So what can we do to stay in control and confident when it comes to the pelvic floor? Well lots actually. While pregnant, there are exercises that you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor, which in turn can help your labour. Exercise classes like Holistic Core Restore with me, or Pregnancy Pilates classes focus on such exercises. Upon returning to exercise after a birth, I’d recommend seeing a certified Woman’s Health Physiotherapist or speak your GP during your six week postnatal check, and then ensuring that any exercise that follows is safe and appropriate to your post natal recovery. Always make sure you exercise with an Instructor qualified in Post Natal Fitness.
» Mums - HIIT: post natal & beyond small group HIIT training
» Holistic Core Restore® Pelvic floor
and core connection/strengthening » Holistic Core Restore® » Post Natal Power Plate®
Water and Nutrition - Your PF is like any other muscle group and all tissue needs water and good fuel to survive. It’s simple, but also far too easy to neglect especially if your PF can sometimes let you down! Likewise there are certain things that can irritate the body (caffeine, for just one example). If you are suffering with a weakened and leaking PF keep a note of where, when, how often and what was going on at the time e.g. were you laughing, or did you get a sudden urge to go to the toilet…?
» Pregnancy fitness » Power Plate® wellness & fitness » Kids welcome!
Breathing - Simple yet focused breathing is amazing at keeping your tummy and PF muscles strong and responsive (even throughout pregnancy). Standing or sitting, take a big breathe into your rib cage (not tummy) and as you exhale think about drawing your pelvic floor in and up… same with your tummy (the classic belly to spine imagery works well). Inhale again and try let all that tension relax, then repeat.
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Downtraining - Downtraining is not very common or often spoken about. The mentality is simple - you wouldn’t go for a run and not stretch out those tired muscle afterwards and your PF is no exception! After a particularly busy day, maybe a long walk or focused core and pelvic floor work try and do a few mins of release style stretches. A great yet restorative stretch getting right up into the PF is the seated inner thigh stretch where the knees are wide and feet are together. Some women suffer with PF muscles that hold tension constantly (are hypotonic) and this can cause leaking too. If you think this might be you, speak to your GP or visit a Women’s Health Physio for some internal release advice - extremely worth it!
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Posture - Posture in women can change dramatically throughout and then after pregnancy. It can cause lots of discomfort but also hamper healing. The main areas are the hips, knees and shoulders. Help yourself by using pillows to rest your little one on when feeding, lift properly with bent knees and not from your back which would push down into your PF and could cause leaking. Also make sure that older children are pulled in close to your body before being picked up (rather than with the arms out). If you are sat at a desk, work on that lovely straight spine and no rounding of the lower back.
Sarah Pearson 07957 940 330
www.pearprojects.co.uk
Sarah is a wellness coach specialising in ante- and post-natal fitness, core and pelvic floor recovery/strengthening and Power Plate®
You can find her in around Tring, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Chesham & Leighton Buzzard.
training.
Author, Sarah Pearson, Holistic Core Restore Coach, Tel. 07957 940330 Editor, Helen McClorry, Babaies on board Magazine.
LOCATION: Pear Projects Studio, 1 Windsor Road, Pitstone, Buckinghamshire LU7 9GB
Diastasis Healing training
In addition, here are a few simple things that can help keep your Pelvic Floor (PF) in tip top shape…
You and Your Pelvic Floor
Carrying a child is one of the biggest and most demanding challenges your body will ever encounter and you’ll notice how much things can shift to make room for that growing baby. Your pelvic floor doesn’t get away with it lightly!
A small boutique studio offering 1:1 and 2:1 fitness training with some classes held at other local venues.
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