Four Short Cuts to Improving your Pelvic Health
Short cut? Really? Whenever we see this as a headline with regard to health and wellness it would be fair to be dubious.
In general there are very few short cuts in life.
Especially when it comes to health.
However having seen countless number of patients over many years now I am always trying to evolve to help people achieve more from physio. How can we improve our continence when we miss our pelvic floor exercises? We can’t find the time to do all that we are being asked to do. So many arrive into follow-up sessions slightly nervous as they feel they haven’t done enough. It’s okay though, because guess what I’m only human too- I get it.
So here are some really effective and long standing tips that yes are short cuts if you can make them part of your day to day routines.
1.BOWEL HEALTH
Again and again it comes up.
Your pelvic floor strength and release will be affected by slow bowels. The bowels are so interconnected that slow and constipated bowel motions can actually encourage urgency/ urge urinary incontinence by putting extra pressure on your bladder. There will be extra effort on your pelvic floor if your rectum is full when trying to jump or resist a cough/ sneeze such that you may leak.
Take the time to be more mindful about your bowel motions : I find this is one thing people can consistently affect with relative ease.
Check your diet in the morning: can you boost your fibre intake : pimp up your porridge and choose high fibre fruits; raspberries, kiwis, prunes.
A desertspoon of flaxseed sprinkled on your cereal/ eggs or in a smoothie.
Listen for the urge: it will usually come up a half hour to an hour after eating breakfast. We can often ignore this!
Use a footstool, lean forward and breathe into the bowel motion : no straining !
2. HYDRATION
There is a fine line with the bladder between drinking too much and too little.
2l of water at least , but don’t forget to include decaffeinated drinks in this count.
What you drink matters; so caffeinated and drinks with artificial sweeteners can affect our bladder making us want to go more frequently.
Check the clour of your urine for feedback on your hydration : we should see light yellow or clear urine- when its getting daker than this it can mean we aren’t getting enough hydration.
If you notice that you urinate alot at night: cut down your intake of fluids after 6 pm in the evening.
Sip fluids throughout the day instead of downing a pint at a time.
3. MOVE MORE
Our bodies adapt to the demands that are put on them. With the amount of sitting that we do in life these days it means the pelvic floor gets shorter from just lack of movement : squatting, lunging and just asking more of our bodies through different movements; maybe walking,running, jumping- whatever suits your activity levels- is not just for your cardiac health: it benefits our pelvic floors too. It increases blood flow and lengthens and strengthens our muscles. When we sit for too long our hips and lumopelvic regions get tight and this will ultimately affect the pelvic floor too.
NOTE: If you tend to leak when trying to be more active, initially choose lower impact exercises. Check the time of day and see can you move when your body might be less tired. Where you are in your menstrual cycle may impact how much you leak and choosing different modes of exercises rather than avoiding altogether is key. If your activity levels are being impacted by incontinence this is, of course a very good reason to see your women’s health physiotherapist.
4. BREATHE BETTER, DEEPER AND MORE FREQUENTLY
Breathing helps improve movement of the pelvic floor period. As our diaphragm moves down it helps to provide movement into our pelvic floor. Our belly becomes less taut therefore allowing freedom and movment occur further down: these anatomical structures are all connected remember. Improving blood flow and releasing tension from the body has a knock on effect to our pelvic health, believe me.
There you have it. Four short cuts to better pelvic health.
