5 Surprising Habits That Might Be Hurting Your Pelvic Floor

When people think about pelvic floor health, they often jump straight to exercises like Kegels. But what if your everyday habits are doing more harm than good?

The pelvic floor muscles play a major role in bladder, bowel, and sexual function, while also being a major contributor to core strengh. While strengthening is important, how you use these muscles throughout your day matters just as much.

Here are five common habits that might be sabotaging your pelvic floor—and what to do instead

#1 Hovering While You Pee

We’ve all been there: public bathroom, questionable toilet seat, pee all over.  There are some instances where it may be necessary to hover, and that’s okay!  Try not to make hovering a routine habit.

Why it’s harmful: Hovering can stop your pelvic floor muscles from fully relaxing, which can make it harder to empty your bladder completely. Over time, this can contribute to urinary urgency, frequency, or even incomplete emptying.

What to do instead: Sit down! Use a seat cover or line the toilet with paper if it helps, but let your muscles fully relax.

#2 Holding Your Breath When You Lift

Whether you're carrying groceries, lifting weights, or picking up your kid, breath holding is a natural response—but not a helpful one.

Why it’s harmful: Holding your breath increases pressure inside your abdomen, which pushes down on your pelvic organs and stresses the pelvic floor. Over time, this can contribute to symptoms like heaviness, leakage, or bulging.

What to do instead: Practice the rule of “exhale with effort.” Blow out as you lift or strain—this helps engage your core without overloading your pelvic floor.

#3 Clenching All Day

Do you catch yourself sucking in your stomach or squeezing your glutes while you stand or sit? Many people think this helps with posture or strength—but it can actually backfire. You may even be doing it without realizing it!

Why it’s harmful: Constant clenching leads to tension and imbalance in the muscles that support your pelvis. This can contribute to pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, and even constipation.

What to do instead: Check in with your body periodically throughout the day, especially if you are feeling stressed, and see if you feel any muscles clenching.  Give your muscles permission to relax! Good posture comes from dynamic movement and support—not gripping everything all the time.

#4 Doing Too Many Kegels

Kegels get a lot of attention, but they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution—and doing them the wrong way (or too often) can cause problems.

Why it’s harmful: Not everyone needs more strength. Some people need to focus on relaxing the pelvic floor, not tightening it. Overdoing Kegels without proper guidance can create or worsen tension, pain, or urinary issues.

What to do instead: See a pelvic floor physical therapist to learn if Kegels are right for you—and how to do them correctly based on your body’s needs.

#5 Ignoring the Urge to Poop

It might not be glamorous, but your body’s cues are important—and ignoring them isn’t doing your pelvic floor any favors.

Why it’s harmful: If you regularly ignore the urge to poop, your body can actually push the stool back up into the rectum. When that happens, the longer it sits there, the more water gets absorbed, making the stool harder and drier. That makes it tougher to pass and can lead to constipation and straining. Straining puts a lot of pressure on your pelvic floor, which over time can lead to problems like pelvic floor dysfunction or even prolapse.

What to do instead: When you feel the urge, try to go soon—don’t wait too long. Sit with your feet supported (a small stool works great), lean forward slightly, and take a few deep breaths. This helps your pelvic floor muscles relax so things can move more easily and comfortably.

The Bottom Line

Your pelvic floor is part of everything you do—breathing, moving, going to the bathroom, even how you sit and stand. Small changes to your daily habits can make a big difference.

If you’re experiencing symptoms like leakage, pain, or pressure—or if you just want to take care of your body—a pelvic floor physical or occupational therapist can help you identify which habits are helping or hurting.

Because pelvic health is everyday health.

To learn more about your pelvic floor muscles, check out these great resources:

• Find a Therapist near you at www.mypfm.com/find-a-pt

• Check out our YouTube channel

• Learn more about your pelvic floor on our Instagram

• Visit our Amazon store for our favorite pelvic health products

• Sign up for our email newsletter

For providers, check out myPFM Academy to learn more so you can better help your clients. With two membership options, you have access to courses, a growing library of patient handouts, hundreds of custom sharable images and infographics, and multilingual resources.

Written by Emily Reul, PT, DPT