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Dec 23, 20213 min read

Pelvic Floor Travel Tips

Hi friends! It’s the holidays which means you might be spending some time traveling. While traveling is fun and it is great to see those we love, it can often disturb our routines (and our pelvic floors!) Here are some tips for a happy and healthy pelvic floor while traveling!


Poop every day Pooping every day is important for bowel and pelvic health- and it makes you feel so much better! It can be very difficult to stay regular when traveling but making pooping a priority will make you feel better and make your pelvic floor happier. It can even help with prolapse symptoms and inconvenient leaking.

Room exercises Here are a few quick pelvic floor and hip exercises that you can do most anywhere! Staying consistent with exercise is very challenging but these exercises should help. (Remember that this isn’t medical advice and it’s important to have clearance to exercise before participating.)


Stairs Stairs may seem like a very simple activity but they do require engagement and coordination of multiple muscle groups, including your pelvic floor and deep abdominals. Activating the “pelvic brace” is a great way to relearn how to go up and down stairs without symptoms.

Shoes Happy feet really are the foundation to good pelvic health. If our feet aren’t happy, our pelvic floor is unlikely to be happy and functioning well. For example, limping (due to pain, etc.) causes extra torque on your low back, pelvis and hips that can affect the muscles that attach there (including your pelvic floor!)


External Support External support can be a very helpful solution for pelvic heaviness and pressure. External support can come in many shapes and sizes. Some of our favorites are CABEA and the V2 Supporter.


Poop Leaks Watch that connection between dairy and bowel or bladder symptoms. If you notice there is a pattern, that doesn’t mean you have to eliminate dairy. It does mean that you’ll be empowered because you understand your body and you’ll make a choice that works for you.


Hovering To Pee Sitting to urinate is FAR preferable to standing but access to a suitable toilet is sometimes lacking- especially with travel! When traveling there may be toilets that do not have a toilet seat, toilets that are beyond dirty, and/or toilets that have flies buzzing around. If that’s the case, it’s OK to occasionally hover—the trick is, hovering successfully!

Many people want to push or strain to get the urine out but softening the pelvic floor muscles and allow them to release is a much better strategy.


Bus Farts Be kind to your neighbors friends! Traveling inherently puts you in closer proximity to others. This applies to buses, planes, trains, cars etc. It can be embarrassing for you and inconvenient for others if you release gas at an inopportune time!


Using a Bidet Bidets can be a great option for cleaning up AFTER using the toilet but you need to be prepared for the clean up process (and removal of clothing). It’s such a nice fresh feeling to be really really clean after using the restroom!


Be Patient with Your Pelvic Floor Patience is helpful in every area of life but with pelvic health, progress can seem like it takes forever—especially when you’re having embarrassing things happen like leaks, or pain is limiting your participation in sex, or you’re afraid to move because you have prolapse. Remember that your body needs time, healing, and many times help to heal. If you’re not sure where to start, a good pelvic physical therapist can help guide you and help you. You can find one on myPFM.com under “Find a PT”.


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


For providers, check our online courses to help your clients with pelvic floor dysfunction. Consider joining our Ambassador Program and most of our courses are included with your membership!

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