What does our pelvic floor comprise?
Your pelvic floor comprises a collection of muscles situated at the stem of your pelvis that have a high probability of malfunctioning. Your bladder, uterus and rectum form the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor muscles are an essential support structure that wraps your pelvic bone and acts as a natural sling for the rectum.
Your pelvic floor muscles support these pelvic organs:
- Bladder
- Uterus
- Vagina
- Rectum
What can go wrong with the pelvic floor?
Out of sync muscles lead to pelvic floor disorders. Pelvic floor dysfunction happens when your pelvic floor muscles cannot relax or work correctly, affecting your ability to urinate or experience a bowel movement. These symptoms are accompanied by painful sex and erectile dysfunction in men.
How do I know I have a pelvic floor disorder?
Pelvic floor dysfunction occurs when the muscles within your pelvic floor tighten and fail to relax. We associate the tightening of your pelvic floor with a type of tension that could lead to:
- Irregular or lack of a bowel movement
- Leaky urine or stool
What causes pelvic floor dysfunction?
Some of the known causes of pelvic floor dysfunction are injuries to the pelvis, pregnancy, prior surgery to the pelvis, and being overweight.
What are the warning signs of pelvic floor dysfunction?
See your gynaecologist should you notice the following signs of pelvic floor dysfunction:
- Back pain
- Pain in the pelvic region
- Pain during sex
- Irregular bowel movement or constipation
- Frequent and painful urination
How do you resolve pelvic floor dysfunction?
Pelvic floor dysfunction can be treated through conservative therapy, including physiotherapy, medication and relaxation techniques.
These treatments are:
- Biofeedback assists over 70 per cent of patients and is entirely painless. Using sensors and a monitor, physiotherapists can monitor pelvic floor muscles when under strain or in a relaxed state.
- Physiotherapy exercises will help loosen tight pelvic floor muscles.
- Medications such as stool softeners that include Colace and MiraLAX keep bowel movements regular and maintain the soft texture of the stool.
