Reduce Pelvic Floor Symptoms: Part 2
In previous blog posts I’ve gone over 4 ways to reduce pelvic floor symptoms during exercise:
And today I’m going to deliver two more ways to reduce pelvic floor symptoms. And I must say, these are by far the easiest tips I’m going to give you.
First, maybe you need to change your clothes.
Tight bras and compressive high waisted pants can flare up symptoms for some folks.
Try a looser fitting pant/short and go braless once in a while if you’re ok with that.
(another perk of home workouts - not as much pressure to “look” a certain way!)
Compressive clothing can flare up pelvic floor symptoms for some folks. I find myself ignoring all of my high waisted leggings and bike shorts these days in favor of less tight joggers and track short styles. I still love how a high waist fits on me, but I just can’t do the compressive stuff.
I also really can’t stand wearing a bra for very long. Having something tight around my ribcage just doesn’t feel comfy.
If you’ve been trying all the things to reduce symptoms and you’re still feeling like something is “off” during workouts (or anytime) give this clothing swap a try and see how it goes for you.
Second, when you’re exercising, simply ignore your pelvic floor.
I’m serious.
Don’t kegel. Don’t contract with exertion. Don’t even think about your pelvic floor muscles.
Instead, focus on the other tips we've been discussing, and see what happens.
CAVEAT: this might not work for everyone. Some folks really benefit from connecting with their pelvic floor and doing a contraction at different points throughout their workouts/throughout specific exercises.
A time when I’m very focused on my pelvic floor muscles is immediately postpartum, in those first few weeks after birth. Want more detail on this? Check out my Postpartum Recovery Guide.
But otherwise, when I’m exercising, holding my baby, or really doing anything that takes effort, I try to ignore my pelvic floor.
The best strategy I have found for my body is to just breathe normally throughout movement. As long as I’m breathing, I’m usually ok.
And then of course, I utilize some of the other tips I shared with you such as the forward lean, rib rotation and exhaling with exertion.
So how do all of these strategies work together?!
Let's say you want to go for a run (I mean, I don't want to, but maybe you do 🤣 so I'm happy to coach you through that!)
Instead of just lacing up your shoes and hitting the pavement, there’s a few things I’d love to see you practice or implement first:
Increase strength in the glutes and trunk (this is really important before getting back into/starting running).
Wear looser fitting clothes (instead of clothes with a lot of compression throughout the torso).
Forward lean throughout your stride.
Upper body rotation with each stride.
Breathe throughout the movement — first in and out through the nose and then in through the nose, out through the mouth, and then finally whatever breathing strategy is working.
Ignore your pelvic floor while you’re running.
And after your run, add in some specific PF exercises that will be helpful to YOU (lengthening vs strengthening the area).
And really these tips we've been discussing can be applied to any movement, not just running.
I hope you’ve gained a little nugget of helpful information here that you can apply to your life in real time. Of course if you’re having a lot of symptoms or your symptoms are really interfering with your life, I’d recommend seeing a physical therapist who specializes in the pelvic floor if that is accessible to you.
And if you’re not dealing with any PF symptoms, these tricks can be a way to prevent symptoms from popping up in the future! Bonus!
Because at the end of the day, we want exercise and movement to work for us. I want exercise to be a tool that improves your life without consuming your life.
I want to be able to hold my friend’s baby AND my baby without even thinking about my pelvic floor (see pic below!) 😍
And that’s what I want for you too – to live your life without the frustrating or inconvenient interruptions that can happen after pregnancy, birth, postpartum or let's be honest – anytime.
Zero pelvic floor symptoms while carrying around these two nuggets 🥰
