WTF is a Pelvic Floor?

Everyone you know is talking about it… But what does it even mean?

In the most basic sense, the Pelvic Floor (PF) is a hammock or sling of muscle that runs from the pubic bone in the front to the sacrum & tail bone in the back of your Pelvis. On the sides, it attaches along the front rim of the lower edge of the pelvis, to the sit bones (ischial tuberosities) and the sacrotuberous ligaments in the back.

Here is a side view of the Pelvic Floor. As one may note, the muscle sling contains the urinary opening, vaginal opening and the anus. If your Pelvic Floor is not performing at its best, you may have issues related to these 3 organs.

Now let’s look at the Pelvic Floor from a different angle — the bottom of the Pelvis.

This is what you would see (minus the skin, fat & hip muscles) if you were laying in bed and holding a mirror between your legs (which we highly encourage!). It’s also what your Pelvic Floor Therapist or OB/GYN & Midwife see if performing a Pelvic exam.

❓What does the PF do?

✅It supports our internal organs, specifically the bladder, uterus & rectum
✅Helps us hold in and release (at appropriate times) pee & poop
✅Helps us enjoy self pleasure & partner intimacy
✅ Holds baby in during pregnancy, and stretches to help birth baby vaginally

❓Why is this info important?

Getting to know ourselves physically is step one to regaining control over our Pelvic Health & Wellness.
✅ Some of our hip muscles are attached to the Pelvis very close to the PF, and the PF is attached to the sacrotuberous ligaments. Imbalances in these muscles & ligaments affects PF function.
✅ You will see hip muscle stretches being called “Pelvic Floor stretches”. Will these hip stretches help the PF — sure 💁🏽‍♀️, but are they PF stretches -no 🙅🏽‍♀️.
✅When we want to treat the PF, we want to focus on ***all*** of it, not just the muscles around the urinary opening. This diagram makes it obvious why the “stop your urine stream” Kegels don’t work — you’re not using a large part of the PF by doing those.

It’s ***so*** important to know our own anatomy.
👩🏽To use the correct muscles when performing Pelvic Floor exercises.
👩🏻To be comfortable with one’s sexual identity and work towards the goal of enjoyable self pleasure or partner intercourse.
👩🏿To correctly use scar massage and tissue mobilization techniques to reduce Pelvic pain.
👩🏼To process sexual or obstetric trauma.

❓How to identify if you have Pelvic Floor Dysfunction ?

If you have any of the below, you likely have PF Dysfunction and will benefit from Pelvic Floor Therapy.
❎ difficulty with support — feeling of heaviness/bulging in vagina or rectum
❎ Difficulty holding in pee, and letting go off poop (constipation can improve with PF therapy!)
❎Pain with intimacy, no sex drive, inability to orgasm, decreased orgasm
❎ Chronic Pelvic pain
❎ Pregnancy-related Pelvic pain — especially near pubic & SI joint

Most people with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction respond very well to conservative rehabilitation, avoiding the need for lifelong use of medication and incontinence garments.
With Pelvic Floor Therapy performed by an Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist with advanced training in Pelvic Health, one can be well on their way to good pelvic health.

Now that you know WTF is a Pelvic Floor, share the info with your friends!

Originally published at https://pelvicfloorbuffalo.com on April 8, 2020.