I’ve heard people talk about the “pelvic floor”, but what exactly is it?
Female pelvic floor as if the person is laying on their back and viewing from their feet up
Let’s chat about the pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles that sit at the bottom of your pelvis. There are a total of 18 muscles across 3 layers that work in coordination in order to support your pelvic organs (bladder, rectum, and uterus), control urine flow, allow stool to pass, partake in sexual function, act as a sump pump to move lymphatic fluid and more! The muscles run between the two “sit bones” (the bones you feel when you are sitting in neutral posture), the pubic symphysis (the joint at the front of the 2 halves of the pelvis) and the tailbone.
These muscles lengthen and elongate as well as shorten and contract. Imagine something similar to a trampoline. Sometimes though, given outside forces and interactions from other areas of the body, the pelvic floor isn’t able to perform it’s duties properly (a post for another time so stay tuned) and this is when people run into issues.
In the female pelvis, there are 3 openings within the pelvic floor. The first one, most anterior (furthest to the front of you) is the urethral opening where urine passes through. The middle opening is the vagina and the opening most posteriorly (towards the back) is the rectal opening where stool passes through. Male pelvic floors (yes! Men have pelvic floors too) have the same muscles but shaped differently. Men have just 2 openings, the urethral opening at the end of the penis and the rectal opening.
When the pelvic floor isn’t functioning properly someone may have issues such as:
Stress incontinence--- leakage of urine or stool/flatulence in times of effort such as sneezing, coughing, laughing, jumping, running
Urge incontinence---out-of-the-blue, strong urge and immediate need to void/have a bowel movement; occasionally referred to “overactive bladder”
Prolapse--feelings of heaviness/discomfort in the pelvic floor due to one or a combination of pelvic organs pushing into the vaginal vault
Dyspareunia--painful intercourse
Pain in pelvis, tailbone, SIJ (sacroiliac joint), SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction)
(not an exhaustive list)