Categories
Education Post Natal Pregnancy

Self Care for Your Pelvic Floor

Self care is a hot topic right now but have you thought about how to self care for your pelvic floor muscles and pelvic area? 

So here they are: My hot tips to keep your pelvic floor and lady bits working well and feeling amazing!

In General:

  • No soaps/moisturisers with chemicals – can irritate and cause infections.
  • Pelvic Floor Exercises regularly – start with one of our pelvic floor and core programs see results within 2 weeks. See Programs 
  • No straining to urinate or do number 2’s – This puts extra pressure on your pelvic floor muscles with and increase in your intra-abdominal pressure downwards. This can lead to a pelvic floor dysfunction or to a risk of prolapse. Instead lean forwards, lift up your heel so you’re on your toes and relax your muscles. 
  • Pelvic floor muscles activated and on when doing other weights or lifting anything including your baby. This is where you reach a functional level of pelvic floor control. It will make you feel stronger and also protect you from a possible pelvic floor dysfunction or risk of prolapse. 
  • Good quality collagen for type 1 and II fibres to help improve the quality of your muscles and ligaments surrounding your pelvic floor. Like my favourite here

Pregnancy & Birth

  • Ice Pads after birth or Padsicles – to help with the healing process and reduce any swelling. Spray your pad with water and witch hazel (distilled – avoid any that have alcohol in them) if you like, fold the pad back up and freeze in a freezer bag. Let them thaw for a few minutes prior to use, then use up to 10 minutes every hour as needed in the first 24-36 hours after birth. 
  • Warm compress during pregnancy – helps your tissue relax prior to labour. 
  • Perineum massage during late stage of pregnancy (after 35 weeks) to reduce your risk and severity of tearing during labour. Gently and with clean hands and natural based lubricant. Check with your health professional if this is applicable to you first. Tiny Hearts Education have a great run down on how to here 

Sex

  • Well lubricated before sex – we know that the pelvic floor muscles help with stimulation to the clitoris and can increase arousal. So try doing some pelvic floor exercises before having sex. Other options include using a natural based lubricant. Eg Olive & Bee Intimate Cream
  • Urinate after sex – can help reduce the risk of urinary tract infections which due to the increase in frequency of urination and the acidity can affect your pelvic floor muscle function. 
Categories
Education Exercise Post Natal

Core Exercises to Reduce Your Abdominal Separation

Wow what happened to my stomach? It looks like it’s split in half and not working. I feel bulging coming out when I stand up, it’s flabby and it feels so weak! I feel horrible.
Does this sound like you?
It’s very common after pregnancy, It’s called Diastasis Rectus Abdominis (DRA) or abdominal separation.  Where the tummy muscles have stretched and the fascia has separated leaving you feeling weak and flabby.
​Here’s what you can you do about it!Abdominal Separation

DRA: This is where the fascia (I like to think of it as a piece of glad wrap over the top and in between your muscles holding them all together) and connective tissue between your Rectus Abdominis (6 pack muscles) has stretched and weakened leaving a gap between your muscles. 
​Add in the skin over the top stretching and it looks and feels like a mess. Don’t worry! It doesn’t have to be this way. 

So why is this a problem?

  • It can lead to weakness in the stomach muscles leaving you at risk of back pain and postural related pain.
  • It disrupts the lumbo-sacral support and muscle system. (lower back and pelvis area)
  • DRA and Pelvic Floor dysfunction often go together (See our FAQ’s for PF dysfunction)
  • A thinner lining of the abdominal wall creates less support for your inner organs and can leave you at risk of a hernia of your bowels.


Alarming Facts:

  • 100% of women have some level of separation of the abdominal muscles in the third trimester. (Hilliard and Brown 1996, Diane Lee 2013)
  • For a lot of women with DRA their gap closes significantly between day 1 and 8 weeks post baby. However if their gap remains widened at 8 weeks and if left untreated the gap at 8 weeks remains the same at 1 year post baby. (Cauldron et al 2008, Liaw et al 2011)
  • 66% of women with DRA were also found to have a pelvic floor dysfucntion Eg Incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse. (Spitznagle et al 2007)

What NOT to do!

  • Crunches! This is a no no as it increases your intra-abdominal pressure and your stomach muscles and pelvic floor aren’t ready to cope with that. It can make your bulging worse and harder to recover from.
  • Planks without sufficient Pelvic Floor and TA strengthening first.
  • Bracing your stomach muscles – this can increase the bulge from within.
  • High impact sport without inner core and pelvic floor strengthening first.

So what can you do about it?

  • ​Core exercises to reduce your abdominal separation, especially an exercise called a head lift which aims to ensure your pelvic floor muscles are switched on, your TA (deeper core muscle) is working and a slight head tilt to allow the outer abdominals to contract. Adding extra hand pressure to your muscles to push them closer together and down towards your spine. There is no bulging or doming from the tummy outwards! This is a key exercise of our New Mum Recovery Program which is so important given your best chance of recovering these muscles is within the first 8 weeks after birth.
  • ​Be careful with getting up from the chair or bed, use compression with a towel or your hands around your tummy for the first few weeks.
  • Be careful lifting your baby – try to use your pelvic floor muscles and TA as best you can.
  • Wear recovery support shorts – we love the SRC recovery shorts to give you that extra compression and support in your early phase. 
  • Ease back into exercise with gentle walking and a pelvic floor strength and recovery program first.

So even though you might feel like there is nothing you can do, there certainly is. Start with pelvic floor exercises to reduce your abdominal separation, then build up your core muscles through our New Mum Recovery Program. Remember the best chance at closing your abdominal separation is within the 1st 8 weeks of having your baby using core exercises. 

​Want to find out how strong your pelvic floor is?
​Take our quiz.

Categories
Education Post Natal Pregnancy

Avoid These Common Pelvic Floor Mistakes

I’m sure we’ve all done them at some point to try and get these elusive pelvic floor muscles working but stop right now! These mistakes are preventing you from feeling strong and getting back to the exercise you want to. They are preventing you from stopping your leakage and they are preventing you from having amazing sexual pleasure. Read on to see what you can do instead. 

When you are doing your pelvic floor exercises try to avoid theses common mistakes below.

3 most common mistakes:

  1. Tilting your pelvis – now we know this can be great for pelvis mobility and good for sexual pleasure but it does not help with your pelvic floor muscle activation while exercising! You want to find a neutral position with your spine and pelvis. So when you’re lying on your back, make sure your tailbone firmly rests on the ground without moving while you do your exercises. 
  2. Squeezing your butt cheeks together like there is a $100 note you don’t want to let go of – This is working your outside buttock muscle (your gluteus maximus) not your pelvic floor muscles. Yes your pelvic floor muscles go from your pubic bone at the front all the way to your tailbone at the back including around your anus but squeezing your butt cheeks is not going to get them working. Instead relax your buttock and focus around your vaginal area to connect with your pelvic floor when exercising. 
  3. Clenching your outer abdominals – this is probably the most common mistake I see in the clinic.  We’re so used to our rectus abdominis (6 pack abs) working that we forget there are deeper layers of muscles underneath. It’s also very hard to take a deep relaxed breath with these muscles working (hint hint – if you’re struggling to breathe at the same time as pelvic floor exercises this is probably why) Put one hand under your rib cage and the other deep down towards your pubic bone. The hand under your rib cage shouldn’t feel anything working underneath just relaxed and resting while you’re exercising. You can also think about your body being in half – the top is breathing and the bottom is gently lifting and squeezing through your pelvic floor muscles. Remember the feeling is all internal.

Hot Tip: your pelvic floor muscle contraction won’t feel like a big bicep contraction, they are small muscles and they are internal. I think one mistake people make is expecting if to feel like this huge contraction. It won’t, it will be subtle. 

Long term we do want our pelvic floor muscles to work with our deeper abdominal muscles with more functional exercises but that is down the track once you have mastered the pelvic floor muscles alone. Our Pelvic Floor strength systems for pregnancy and our new mum recovery program work with you every step of the way. Starting at the basics with video instruction and through to more functional exercises including your deep core and pelvis stability. 

​Unsure how strong you are?
Or if you can activate your muscles?

Take our Pelvic Floor Quiz for pregnancy or new mum’s to find out how strong you are!

Categories
Education Exercise Post Natal Pregnancy

Pelvic Floor Facts You Need to Know!

When talking about your pelvic floor muscles what are the essentials you need to know?
These small and sometimes seemingly insignificant muscles do a whole lot that you probably don’t even know about and wouldn’t even realise. 


Reality is you can thank these muscles for pleasure and avoiding embarrassment!These important muscles form a sling like support system at the base of your pelvis. They work on some level without you even knowing it which is why sometimes they stop working as well as they should. Hence we need as strengthening program to get the working well but also learn to switch them off when needed.

Here are some must know Pelvic Floor facts:

  • The pelvic floor muscles are made up of Pubococcygeus, Iliococcygeus, Coccygeus & Puborectalis. They sound really long and complicated but make up our superficial and deep layers of the muscles.
  • Pelvic floor exercises are the same as “doing your Kegels” ( kegels is just the American term. You have no idea how many times i’m asked this)
  • When pelvic floor muscles are tightened or contracted you get a closing and a lifting sensation of the vaginal walls.
  • They are important to us throughout our whole life especially as a woman. During pregnancy, the post partum period and onwards.
  • The muscles play a role in starting and stopping the flow of urine based on a contraction of the detrusor muscles. For more see our bladder blog 
  • Men have pelvic floor muscles too. Surprise, surprise They are important for avoiding the post urinating drip. They can also have issues when the prostate becomes enlarged and presses on the nerves innovating the pelvic floor muscles.
  • They provide support your pelvic organs from below. Vital for any kind of exercise especially jumping & running. Also anything that causes an increase in intra abdominal pressure Eg coughing, sneezing & laughing.
  • They play a role with sexual sensation. The pelvic floor muscles help the clitoris become enlarged with contraction and can increase the sensation of an orgasm when contracted at the same time. 
  • Assist in baby delivery. The pelvic floor muscles help guide the baby’s head into the birthing canal when the time is ready.
  • They are just like any other muscles in the body. They have blood flow, you can strengthen them, relax them and they can become tight and cause other issues.
  • Slow twitch and fast twitch fibres.  Which work like any other muscles, slow to perform endurance type activities and fast to stop the flow of urine quickly. 
  • Pain and swelling can inhibit your muscle control. The same as a lot of muscles in the body when we have pain and swelling it can interfere with the function of your muscles. 

So many reasons to be thankful for these muscles! And if you don’t think you know how to activate them or wondering how strong you are? Take our Pelvic Floor Quiz below and find out. 

Categories
Education Exercise Labour Post Natal

5 Essentials for New Mums

As a new mum, you generally forget about yourself and look after everyone else. Hands down it’s about survival. However, I’m here to remind you the 1st 8 weeks are by far the best time for your body to recover!
Research has shown the best recovery gains in your stomach muscle separation and function are within the 1st 8 weeks. Don’t freak out, there are very easy and gentle exercises that you can do at home within this time frame, none of which put your body at risk.
Read on for 5 easy things to do:

1. Work on your pelvic floor from day one! This is so vital and important. Make sure your pelvic floor muscles are working, strong and able to hold everything in. You can start activating your pelvic floor muscles 24 hours after giving birth, regardless of the way you gave birth. Remember you may not be able to feel much happening down there and it may hurt. Keep going slowly and start to connect the pathway from your brain to your muscles by trying daily.

2. Have your abdominal separation checked and go slow. Don’t even think about an abdominal crunch until your separation has been checked multiple times by health professionals and you feel strong within your pelvic floor. You have a window of 8 weeks post baby to really work on getting your separation as close together as it will go. See someone early and start gentle exercises early.

3. Start gentle lower tummy exercises. Transversus abdominis especially, this is a great muscle providing lower back, pelvis and stomach support. Start gently by lying on your back and trying to slowing draw your belly button to your spine without tilting/moving your bottom/pelvis or spine. This is a great one to help activate those deeper muscles to help with your abdominal separation. If you have a separation add gentle compressions with your hands to close the muscles together. 

4. If you are keen to get back into running, surfing or more high impact exercise build up to it once your pelvic floor and deep stomach muscles are strong. You need to start by by building a base and this can be done with general walking. Move onto pilates, yoga and more dynamic exercises as you feel stronger, again ensuring your pelvic floor is working during your other exercises. Your hormones are still changing which means your muscles can’t possible be at their maximum strength until 3 months post baby so don’t even think about running or any high impact exercise before this time. 

5. I’m all for women getting back into exercise and sport and reaching some kick arse goals but that takes time. This is the time to focus on strength, not weight loss or pre baby body etc. There is no such thing! Your body has gone through something amazing and is like nothing else you will ever go through. You can’t possible expect your body to be like it was. That’s way too much pressure on yourself. Relax, be kind to yourself and take away the pressure. Aim for strength and posture. The weight loss will come later. 

I have seen some clients feel good and think their pelvic floor is strong and go back to the gym at 6 weeks post partum and end up with a prolapse. The inside takes time to recover and heal. Focus on healthy choices and gentle movement. My general rule is no running until you can hold your pelvic floor on for 10 full breaths while walking and even then  not before 3 months post partum.

Hot tip: TAKE YOUR TIME! Your body needs nutrients to support you and your baby. Be healthy, eat good nutritious food and go slow getting back into exercise. Remember it can take a year to recover from pregnancy and labour. Be patient and kind to yourself, you’re a mum now.

​There is help! Join our new mum recovery program and get all the exercises you need for your 1st 12  weeks.

10 exercises/week that are super gentle and don’t take up much of your precious time.

New Mum Recovery Program

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