Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Naturally & with Technology: A Combined Approach

Have you considered the vital role your pelvic floor plays in your overall health? This group of muscles supports your pelvic organs, crucial for functions like bladder and bowel control, and is key to preventing leaks, allowing you to laugh and sneeze without worry.

In this blog, we delve deep into the importance of maintaining a strong pelvic floor, exploring effective exercises and innovative treatments that help strengthen this crucial area. From understanding chronic pelvic pain to learning simple yet powerful pelvic floor exercises, our goal is to empower you with knowledge and practical tips. Whether you’re looking to improve bladder control, enhance sexual health, or manage symptoms related to pelvic floor disorders, you’ll find valuable insights and expert advice to aid your journey towards better pelvic health.

Understanding Chronic Pelvic Pain and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

What is Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP)?

Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) is defined as persistent pain in the pelvic area for over six months, affecting one in six women. It can be caused by conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids.

Some possible causes of chronic pelvic pain include:

• Gynaecological conditions like endometriosis and fibroids
• Systemic ailments such as irritable bowel syndrome
• Musculoskeletal issues like fibromyalgia
• Surgical remnants from past procedures

All these factors contribute to the persistent pain experienced by individuals with chronic pelvic pain. These conditions can also lead to secondary changes such as pelvic floor abnormalities, which further contribute to the discomfort.

What is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Pelvic floor dysfunction can feel like having a crucial part of your body not working as it should, leading to symptoms such as difficulty with bowel movements, unexpected leaks, and discomfort during intimate activities.

These issues can greatly disrupt daily life. The tightness of these muscles can be caused by various factors, including trauma and specific gynaecological conditions. Accurately identifying these symptoms typically requires the insight of a healthcare provider, who can detect signs of dysfunction effectively.

How can Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) be diagnosed?

Comprehensive Approaches to Chronic Pelvic Pain

Diagnosing CPP involves a detailed review of symptoms, medical history, and possibly diagnostic tests like laparoscopy. Treatment is multifaceted, often involving targeted exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor and alleviate symptoms, thereby restoring a semblance of normalcy to one’s life. In other cases, pelvic floor relaxation exercises or stretching may be recommended. 

How do you know if your pelvic floor is weak?

Recognising a weak pelvic floor can be subtle, often indicated by symptoms like an unexpected urge to use the restroom or slight urinary leaks. Life events such as pregnancy and ageing can exert pressure on these muscles, leading to weakness.

Additionally, factors like obesity and chronic conditions that cause persistent coughing or constipation can strain these crucial muscles, impacting their function.

Key Exercises for Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor

Outside Surgery and Treatment options like Emsella, there are a variety of exercises that can strengthen your pelvic floor. These exercises, while simple, are the building blocks for a foundation that can support a lifetime of health and vitality.

Kegel Exercises

Kegel exercises, also known as pelvic floor muscle exercises, should form the core of your routine. The essence of Kegels lies in the lift and hold of the pelvic muscles, a movement akin to holding back the flow midstream. Kegel exercises strengthen these muscles, and starting with brief holds of three seconds and progressing to longer durations, these exercises can be seamlessly woven into your daily routine, performed discreetly whether you’re seated at your desk or unwinding at home.

Aiming for two to three sets a day, Kegels are a testimony to the adage that great things come from small, consistent efforts.

Squats and Lunges

Beyond Kegels, squats and lunges, a common part of many strength training routines, also contribute to the training of your pelvic floor. These compound movements, when paired with a conscious effort to contract the pelvic floor muscles, can amplify the strengthening effect. By engaging the pelvic floor before descending and re-engaging at the lowest point, you effectively strengthen the pelvic floor muscles with each repetition. This technique is a practical form of pelvic floor muscle training.

Yoga Postures for Pelvic Floor Health

Finally, yoga is well known for postures and poses that gently stretch and strengthen muscles, while offering a more meditative approach to pelvic floor health. The Happy Baby Pose, for instance, provides a soothing stretch that targets the pelvic muscles, promoting flexibility and release, as well as the following:

• Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana) – This pose helps tighten the pelvic floor muscles as you lift your hips.
• Chair Pose (Utkatasana) – Engages the thighs and pelvic region as you hold a sitting position without a chair.
• Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II) – Enhances stability and strengthens the pelvic area as you maintain a lunge position.
• Child’s Pose (Balasana) – Although more of a relaxing pose, it can help relieve tension in the pelvic floor.
• Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) – Encourages relaxation and a mild strengthening of the pelvic muscles.

Incorporating yoga into your fitness or meditation routine alongside more vigorous exercises can help with strengthening your pelvic floor muscles with a lower impact on overall energy levels and best of all can be done by those with more limited physical capabilities.

Emsella Chair: A Non-Invasive Solution for Strengthening Pelvic Muscles

A breakthrough in pelvic health technology is the Emsella Chair, a non-invasive solution for pelvic muscle strengthening.

With a high satisfaction rate to its name, the Emsella Chair has proven its effectiveness in not just treating urinary incontinence, but also in elevating overall pelvic health, without the need for surgery or downtime.

How the Emsella Chair works

Employing cutting-edge High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic (HIFEM) technology, a single HIFEM session brings thousands of supramaximal contractions, which are extremely important in muscle re-education and strengthening.

This technology stimulates the muscles with rapid contractions, much like an intense workout that’s effortlessly achieved while seated. These contractions are more powerful than voluntary exercise, making the Emsella Chair a highly efficient option for pelvic muscle training with little to no recovery time needed afterwards.

Benefits of the Emsella Chair

The chair’s design allows patients to undergo treatment fully clothed, offering convenience and comfort. Treatments last only 28 minutes, fitting seamlessly into busy schedules. Typically, a full course consists of six sessions.

The effectiveness of HIFEM Emsella has been shown to be superior to routine Kegel exercises in multiple studies to treat incontinence and intimate discomfort. You may even observe improvement after a single session however this will typically continue improving over the next few weeks as your treatment progresses.

Emsella Treatment at Nurture Gynaecology

Under the guidance and experience of our head gynaecologist Dr Brooke O’Brien, patients can access the Emsella treatment at Nurture Gynaecology, just north of Brisbane. 

Whether you’re in the early stages of assessing your pelvic floor function or looking for a referral clinic to begin treating weak pelvic floor muscles; we take pride in helping women gain access to therapies, guidance and specialised treatment for a variety of gynaecological conditions. To schedule an appointment or learn more, reach out via our online form or give us a call on (07) 3472 9108 to have a chat about your condition or needs while booking.