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Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Part 4: Integrate

Hi friends!  We made it to the last part of the series on how to train your pelvic floor muscles.  If you’ve made it this far, congratulations and we commend you for the commitment.  It can be overwhelming to commit that much time to take care of ourselves.  So, how do we integrate pelvic floor muscle training?

 

Once you’ve learned how to identify, isolate, and improve the pelvic floor muscles you are ready to progress.  Focus on integrating your pelvic floor muscles into everyday movements, activities, and exercise.  But what exactly does that mean?  The pelvic floor muscles are a part of our core.  This means that we need the muscles to be engaged with movement and activity because anytime you move the core is working.

 

Some key signs that the pelvic floor is not engaging are:

  • Leakage (pee, poop, or gas)Pain

  • Prolapse (bulging)

  • Pressure

 

When things are working the way they were designed to, the pelvic floor muscles will automatically engage and pre-contract with activity or any sudden increases in pressure (like coughing or sneezing).  However, due to a variety of factors, sometimes the pelvic floor muscles don’t do the right thing at the right time and can give us any of those above symptoms.

 

Our pelvic floor muscles are essential throughout the day.  This means that when we lift anything we need the pelvic floor to pre-engage to support us and to prevent any symptoms like leakage or prolapse.  Lifting can include just about anything, it may be a weight, a baby, a laundry basket, a box, the list goes on and on. 

 

We need the muscles to have both good endurance to support us all day long and to have good strength to counteract quick but strong increases in pressure.  Now that you know how to engage the muscles, make sure that you are engaging them with everyday activities.  As you lift that laundry basket, be sure the pelvic floor muscles are engaging.  You can do this using the pelvic brace technique.  Think “exhale and activate.”  In the video below, Jeanice will teach you how to do the pelvic brace.  Note that in the video she is laying down, and while that can be the best place to initially learn how to do the pelvic brace, it can be done in any position.  In fact, you want to be able to use the pelvic brace with sitting, standing, lifting, etc.



 

Along with exhaling and activating the muscles with activity we need to know how to lengthen the muscles at appropriate times.  When might you need to length the muscles?  Here are some common times:

  • Peeing

  • Pooping

  • Vaginal penetration (e.g. sexual intercourse, menstrual product insertion, pelvic exams)

  • Rectal penetration (e.g. sexual intercourse, pelvic exams)

 

Properly functioning pelvic floor muscles can help us live happy, healthy lives without pain and allow us to control when we pee and poop.  If you are struggling with any symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, try these steps but it may be helpful to see a pelvic floor physical or occupational therapist near you.  Find one at www.mypfm.com/find-a-pt

 

Ready to learn more about pelvic health? Here are some helpful resources:

 

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.  At myPFM Academy you’ll find courses like:

  • Pelvic PT Evaluation of the Pelvic Floor Muscles with Dr. Samantha Richter, PT, DPT, WCS

  • Pelvic Floor PT and OT How-Where-What: How to Become One, Where They Work, and What They Do with Jeanice Mitchell, PT, MPT, WCS, BCB-PMD

  • New Structure for PFM Assessment Using ICS Terminology with Beth Shelly, PT, DPT, WCS, BCB-PMD

 

Written by Emily Reul, PT, DPT

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Information on mypfm.com is for awareness purposes, not personalized medical advice. Please seek professional counsel for any medical condition or before starting or altering any exercise or fitness program.

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