Pelvic floor health is an often overlooked but critical aspect of overall well-being. Proper functioning of the pelvic floor can be easily disrupted by various factors, including pregnancy, lingering postpartum issues, being overweight, overwhelm/stress and even hypermobility.

Hypermobility refers to excessive flexibility in joints and connective tissues throughout the body. In this blog post, we'll explore the connection between hypermobility and pelvic floor health, and present a straightforward treatment plan to help aid in the healing process.

Understanding the Pelvic Floor:

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that form a supportive hammock-like structure at the base of the pelvis. It plays a crucial role in maintaining urinary and bowel continence, sexual function, and core stability. When hypermobility is present, these muscles and tissues may become stretched and weakened, leading to pelvic floor dysfunction. This dysfunction can even cause accessory muscle weakness, overly tight muscles or imbalanced muscles, and can be a major contributing factor for things like low back and hip pain.

Hypermobility's Impact on Pelvic Floor Health:

1. Muscle and Ligament Strain: Hypermobility can lead to overstretching and weakening of the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments, reducing their ability to support pelvic organs. This may lead to issues like incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

2. Altered Alignment: Hypermobility can affect the alignment of the body, potentially causing stress and tension in the pelvic floor and surrounding structures. Chronic tension in the pelvic floor may contribute to conditions like pelvic pain and muscle spasms.

3. Difficulty in Core Engagement: Hypermobility can make it challenging to engage and stabilize the core muscles effectively. When we are out of alignment the muscles often fire out of order causing accessory muscles to act as the major muscles should be. The pelvic floor is a crucial part of the core and should be working in concert with all of your abdominal muscles. Difficulties in its functioning can lead to lower back, hip pain and poor posture.

A Simple Treatment Plan for Healing:

1. Lifestyle Modifications: Maintain a healthy lifestyle by staying active, eating a balanced diet, and managing your body weight. Avoid activities that put excessive strain on the pelvic floor, like heavy lifting or high-impact exercises until you have properly strengthened the pelvic floor muscles. Being hypermobile does not mean that you cannot lift heavy any more, it just means you need to be intentional with your strength exercises and focus on proper alignment, pressurization and muscle sequencing prior to the heavy lift. Generally speaking, you can lift heavy but we look to have about 3-4 times the strength that you might have had prior to lifting heavy. This may sound like a lot, but know that it is not only doable, but that when done with a progressive, step-by-step approach, you can be lifting heavy again before you know it!

2. Mind-Body Practices: Techniques like meditation, deep breathing and yoga can help improve relaxation and reduce pelvic floor tension. Whether we are working to help incontinence, prolapse or any other pelvic floor dysfunction, we start with gaining awareness of the muscles and learn relaxing techniques (release your jaw muscles!) Then we work on proper strengthening, firing up the pelvic floor and core muscles, in the correct sequence, to get the strongest foundation throughout.

3. Consult a Healthcare Professional: If you suspect that hypermobility is affecting your pelvic floor health, consult a healthcare professional, preferably one with expertise in pelvic floor issues. They can provide a precise diagnosis and tailor a treatment plan to your needs.

4. Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy: Physical therapy with a focus on pelvic floor rehabilitation is highly effective in treating hypermobility-related pelvic floor issues. A trained physical therapist can guide you through exercises to strengthen and stabilize the pelvic floor muscles, address alignment problems, and improve core strength. The awareness that you are guided to with pelvic floor physical therapy can be super helpful in helping to strengthen muscles in a healthy, aligned manner.

5. Kegel Exercises: These exercises involve contracting and relaxing the muscles responsible for urinary and bowel control. However, not everyone will require Kegel exercises, at least not at the beginning. Consult a professional that can teach you proper Kegel execution to get the most out of this exercise, and to make sure that doing them does not make the situation worse. Regular, correct practice is essential for success.

Conclusion:

Understanding the connection between hypermobility and pelvic floor health is essential for anyone looking to enhance their overall well-being. If you suspect hypermobility is affecting your pelvic floor, seek professional guidance. With a simple yet targeted treatment plan, you can aid in the healing process and improve your pelvic floor health, ultimately leading to a better quality of life. Remember, consistency and patience are key to seeing positive results.