How to Relax Pelvic Floor Muscles: Tips from a Top Pelvic Floor Therapist

Understanding Your Pelvic Floor Muscles

The pelvic floor is a crucial group of muscles stretching like a hammock from the pubic bone to the tailbone. These muscles support the bladder, uterus, and rectum. Like any muscle in your body, the pelvic floor can become tight and overactive, leading to a range of discomforts and symptoms, such as pain during intercourse, lower back pain, and urinary issues.

Identifying signs of a tense pelvic floor is crucial. Common indicators include difficulty starting to urinate or finding yourself “pushing pee out”, constipation, pelvic pain or pain with intercourse and urinary urgency and leakage. It’s also important to recognize the emotional stressors that can exacerbate this tension, as mental and physical health are deeply connected.

Daily Habits for Pelvic Floor Health

Integrating simple changes into your daily routine can profoundly affect your pelvic floor health. First, focus on your posture, but not how you would usually think. Instead of aiming for “perfect posture”, concentrate on regular movement and changing positions. This will help reduce tension from forming in any one position.

What we eat and drink plays a large role in bowel and bladder function. Finding the right amount of water and fiber intake for you as an individual is important, as is having awareness of what bladder irritants (things that will make you have to go more often) you consume. These include things like caffeine, coffee/tea, citrus, chocolate, carbonated beverages like seltzers and alcohol of all kinds. 

It can also be helpful to know what is considered “normal” bathroom habits. Leakage is never normal, despite it being very common. We should urinate every 2-4 hours or 5-8x a day and it is common to go more often in the morning than in the afternoon/evening. We should not wake to urinate at night except during pregnancy or over the age of 65, then 1x a night is normal. 

Exercises to Relax the Pelvic Floor

Relaxing your pelvic floor muscles can be achieved with specific exercises encouraging them to release and reduce tension. Here are some practical exercises you can try:

Diaphragmatic or Core 360 Degree Breathing

Often called deep belly breathing, this exercise promotes relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles as you breathe deeply with your diaphragm (the muscle that sits in the bottom of your rib cage). The goal is that when you inhale, your rib cage, belly, low back and pelvic floor all lengthen or expand and when you exhale the muscles relax back to their resting position.

To start, lie down comfortably with your legs well supported on a pillow or bolster and your hands gently across your abdomen. Slowly take a long inhale, feeling your hands on your stomach rise. Exhale slowly, feeling your belly deflate. Repeat this with your hands on the sides of your rib cage, feeling your breath move out to the sides, and with your hands on your low belly, toward your pubic bone. You should feel expansion in all directions (core 360 degrees).

Pelvic Elevators

Instead of Kegels, a full pelvic floor muscle contraction, we practice pelvic floor elevators. This means seeing if you can slowly contract your pelvic floor up to the “attic” and then release it down slowly to the “ground floor”. We don’t want to push down on our pelvic floor (to the “basement”) unless attempting to have a bowel movement. However, it is important to note that we often need guidance to know if we are doing this exercise correctly, which is where a pelvic floor physical therapist can help.

Stretches

Certain stretches can directly target the pelvic floor, helping it to relax and lengthen. Common pelvic floor stretches are often seen in yoga practices such as happy baby, child’s pose, and pigeon. It is important that whichever stretch you attempt, you do not have pain. The goal is to be able to relax fully into the stretch instead of working really hard to keep yourself in that position. 

When to Seek Help from a Pelvic Floor Therapist

Sometimes, self-care and home exercises aren’t enough, which is when a pelvic floor therapist’s role becomes invaluable. If you’re experiencing ongoing pain, discomfort during sex, or urinary issues despite your efforts, it might be time to consult a professional. A pelvic floor therapist can provide personalized exercises and treatments tailored to your needs.

A trained professional can also help you better understand your body and teach you techniques you may not find through general advice. This personalized attention can be the key to effective relief and long-term health benefits.

Lifestyle Changes for Better Pelvic Health

Alongside exercises and good habits, making broader lifestyle changes can enhance pelvic floor health. This includes weight management, as excessive body weight can increase pressure on the pelvic floor muscles, worsening the symptoms. Quitting smoking is also advisable, as coughing can exacerbate the problem by putting extra stress on the muscles.

Mindfulness and stress management techniques, such as yoga and meditation, can also help relax not just the pelvic floor but the entire body, contributing to overall well-being and health.

Integrating Resolve Physical Therapy into Your Journey

At Resolve Physical Therapy, we understand individuals’ unique challenges with pelvic floor issues. We pride ourselves on creating a compassionate environment where we tailor a plan that fits into your life seamlessly. With our expertise in pelvic floor physical therapy, we develop strategies that are effective and easy to integrate into your daily routine.

Our commitment is to help you regain comfort and confidence in your physical abilities without telling you to stop what you love doing simply. Instead, we guide you through each step of your personalized plan, ensuring you feel supported throughout your journey to better pelvic health.

Conclusion

Relaxing your pelvic floor muscles doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the right knowledge, daily practices, and the support of a professional pelvic floor therapist, you can alleviate discomfort and enhance the quality of your life. 

At Resolve Physical Therapy, we support your journey every step of the way, ensuring you can move pain-free and enjoy your activities without limitations. Remember, taking care of your pelvic floor is vital to your overall health, and you don’t have to do it alone.

Functions of a Pelvic Floor PT