I sneeze therefore I pee.

I sneeze therefore I pee.
This was my philosophy during pregnancy.
Only problem is, the philosophy continued for longer than anticipated - too long after the birth of my first.
I'm not embarrassed to say it, it was a fact.

But blimey that fact was definitely annoying, irritating and slightly unfortunate, to say the least. So I restarted my pelvic floor exercises to try and strengthen and support my slightly battered bladder. I'm lucky, it was just a slight urgency to pee. And I know now what I need to do to keep my pelvic floor supported and balanced. But not everyone is so lucky in this, and not everyone knows the cause for their discomfort or unexpected urgency to pee.

Some women (and men) have symptoms all their life; women from multiple pregnancies, weight gain and loss, and persistent stationary work positions that don’t allow for the layers of the pelvic floor tissues to function properly. Then there is the issue of how we effectively balance the pelvic floor. Most of us believe we need to strengthen, strengthen, strengthen - well this isn’t entirely true.

We need to RELAX the pelvic floor first, in order to then strengthen it to the right degree. - Its actually a fable from somewhere around Victorian times that women (wives and mistresses included) needed to strengthen their pelvic floor to, keep everything tip top and super-tight in order to, erm, basically keep their husbands' happy 🙈
Some patients of mine have spent so much time strengthening to the point they could take part in weightlifting eggs or whatever god-awful contraptions they seem to think is actually helping them, but this has a negative effect on the control of the pelvic floor function and in turn on the diaphragm, and in turn on the spine and all connecting tissue - sorry lifting statues and god-knows what else is not the way forward!

And why is it so important to look after the health of your pelvic floor? Well its not just to control a bit of pee. The urogenital organs (reproductive system and bladder) are housed here as well important vascular and nerve pathways, and to add muscles and other connective tissue that directly links to
the abdominal contents and also the respiratory system. So you see, I hope, that its quite important to have a stable pelvic floor in order to try and support against any prolapse which can occur in up to 80% of patients (yes possibly you too), or dysfunction in your reproductive and urinary health.

As Osteopaths, we can help determine the health of your pelvic floor, to diagnose the issue and if needed advise or refer to a specialist if needed. Exercises and gentle structural, visceral and soft tissue treatment can assist the health of your pelvic floor so if you aren’t sure if this applies to you
have a look at some of the symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction; you might be somewhat surprised by the list.
If you feel this might relate to you then give me a call and in a SAFE, confidential, UNDERSTANDING environment I can see how best to SUPPORT you and your pelvis.

Symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction or instability may include:
The feeling that you need to have several bowel movements during a short period of time.
The feeling that you cannot complete a bowel movement.
Constipation, or straining pain with bowel movements.
Leakage of stool/urine with or without your awareness.
A frequent need to urinate.
When you do go, you may stop and start many times.
Painful urination.
Pain in your lower back that cannot be explained by other causes.
Ongoing pain in your pelvic region, genitals, or rectum with or without a bowel movement.
Pain during intercourse (experienced by women).

This material is owned and copyrighted by Zoe Merkazy, and under no circumstances can be used by other persons without express permission from the author. Date of content written 1/06/2019 ©