Why aren’t strong and well-functioning pelvic floor muscles really important to us all? Why is leaking when we sneeze OK, or standing on the doorstep, desperately trying to get the key in the door, and racing to the toilet before disaster strikes something that we put up with?
I’ve been a continence nurse for the last 25 years, currently working at The London Clinic on Harley Street. I’ve seen over 35,000 patients in that time and was recently described by the Times as ‘the Dr Dolittle of Vaginas’. I was inspired to write my new book, The Pelvic Floor Bible, when I heard the report from the recent Royal College of Midwives stating that a third of existing and expectant mothers don’t do pelvic floor exercises, despite their reported benefits. This statistic shocks me and has inspired me to start a pelvic floor revolution. We need to look after our pelvic floors in the same way we treat and exercise the rest of our body. Our pelvic floor is so important and when working well it helps keep us continent, is good for our sex lives, prevents prolapse and even enables us to poo better.
There is no reason that anyone has to put up with weak pelvic floor muscles. Yet we do. I wonder if it’s because it’s neatly tucked away, or it’s one of those things we say we’ll get round to, but never do. I imagine there’s a lot of pelvic floor leaflets in a box somewhere in your house that you took home from the maternity ward, gathering dust. I also think that while it is a very common condition, with over 200 million people affected by it worldwide, it’s still hugely under-reported and remains a taboo. While we’ve almost become comfortable discussing periods and tampons, pelvic floor issues are still frequently ignored, despite affecting one in three women in the UK. This absolutely has to change. I want to normalise discussions around this part of our body and make pelvic floor exercises part of our everyday routine.
I hope the next bit inspires you to make a plan. Pelvic floor exercises, when done correctly, take up just a few moments of your day. Regardless of whether you’ve suffered any problems thus far, it’s important to get into the habit and make it work for your lifestyle. That way, you are much more likely to do it. It’s all about making it doable for you.
Here are my quick tips for great pelvic floor muscles:
The two most important things of all are, are you using the right muscles and are you doing the exercises regularly.
Sit on the arm of a chair, or any hard surface with your feet flat on the floor. Lean slightly forward with your vulval area in contact with the hard surface. With your hands on your thighs try to lift the area around your vagina and anus away from whatever it is you are sitting on.
Draw up all the muscles at the same time, squeeze, lift and hold for a count of five if you can, then try to build up to holding for ten seconds over time. Then, let go gently and count to five, repeat five times. Try to do the exercises at least twice a day; while cleaning your teeth is good time so that way you will never forget..
Once a day, you should try to also do ten short, sharp contractions. Done in a rhythmic pattern of squeeze, let go, squeeze, let go.
If this isn’t going to work for you, please don’t give up. You could try the Squeezy app, vaginal weights, or the Elvie trainer. If you are still not able to, seek help from a women’s health physiotherapist or a continence nurse specialist. Whatever you do, don’t suffer in silence anymore.
The Pelvic Floor Bible by Jane Simpson is published by Penguin Life, priced £9.99
MNHQ UPDATE: Jane Simpson will be returning to this post on 20 June to answer some user questions
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Guest post: “Pelvic floor issues are still frequently ignored”
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MumsnetGuestPosts · 14/06/2019 09:49
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