All Women Should Know the Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Back Pain? Painful Sex? Peeing While Sneezing? One in three women suffers from pelvic floor dysfunction and is too embarrassed to talk about it - Cheryl Coppa is on a mission to change this

Let’s visit this very important yet unspoken topic. I'm sure you have heard these common phrases:

“I leak too, it’s normal once you’ve had kids.”

“ It’s just what happens once you hit a certain age.”

“I have done all the ab programs, but I still have a mom pooch.”

“I feel like I have to pee all the time but only a little comes out .”

There's Something You Can Do About It

There are a lot of myths out there surrounding this issue and what is normal and what is dysfunctional. The list doesn’t end here either!

Back pain, pelvic girdle pain, prolapse, painful sex, doming of the abdomen when in a crunch position (Diastasis), this is not normal, this is all dysfunction, dysfunction of the Pelvic Floor and Inner Core system. It’s just so common it has been written off as normal. What you may find even more surprising is that even physically fit women struggle with this.

While it is not life-threatening, it is certainly life alternating. Maybe you are scheduling your life around these issues. I'm here to tell you that there IS something you can do about it!

So What Exactly Is The Pelvic Floor?

Let’s get a little better understanding of what is happening or should be happening in your Pelvic Floor. Your pelvic floor is the foundation of your core, literally right at the bottom! It plays a role in spinal control, stability, sexual response & supporting your inner organs (bladder, uterus, and rectum). Your pelvic floor is made of up muscles, nerves, blood vessels, ligaments, and connective tissues.

What Does The Pelvic Floor Do? The pelvic floor works in synergy with your breath, or at least it should be. In connection with the inner core muscles (diaphragm, transverse abdominus, multifidus, and the pelvic floor), together they should be anticipating and supporting your every move. Whether it is in your fitness routines or in all the activities in your every daily life. Everything from carrying your groceries, babies, car seats, your breath, and inner core should be responding and supporting accordingly. If you are experiencing any of the red flags mentioned above, even in the slightest form, you are experiencing dysfunction in the pelvic floor and deep core muscles.

Back pain, pelvic girdle pain, prolapse, painful sex, doming of the abdomen when in a crunch position (Diastasis), this is not normal, this is all dysfunction of the Pelvic Floor and Inner Core system. It’s just so common it has been written off as normal.

What Causes Pelvic Floor Dysfunction? Somewhere along the way, there was a disconnect between the inner core system, the breath, and the pelvic floor. Most of the time it comes from pregnancy and delivery. Could also be a result of being overweight, menopause, or trauma. Also, misalignment is a BIG one. Misalignment is a result of carrying poor posture or sitting incorrectly for years and years, even decades! Most of us are walking around with our pelvis tucked under, even when we sit. The good news is we can realign, reconnect, and retrain this inner core system!

What do I do? Every situation is personal, I would always suggest seeing a physiotherapist who can examine you from the inside. From my scope, I can teach you how to release tension, realign and retrain your pelvic floor and inner core so they work in synergy again and give you the proper support you need.

What Are Kegels? I have heard of those before!

You have probably heard of Kegels and while they are a part of retraining your inner core, they are not the complete solution. When it comes to Kegels, most people are doing them incorrectly, or just have never been taught how to do them.

Besides the symptoms we talked about above, let’s see how your alignment is! Misalignment is a huge contributor and in my program, we start by;

Releasing, a lot of times you are out of alignment because of tight muscles and tension. So, we release tension.

Alignment, if it is good or poor is the result of how you carry yourself in your daily posture. Learning proper alignment will allow you to safely and effectively re-train your core.

Breath, how to engage your pelvic floor muscles and inner core muscles in synergy with your breath. Re-train it, so you can do this without having to think about it.

Then we learn how to do all that in simple movements, slowly progressing the movements so you can take these life alternating skills into your regular life and workouts and have the STRONGEST most functional core and sense of CONTROL, and CONFIDENCE in your life.

Posture Correction

Take a look at this model. She is very fit. Her complaints are she leaks when she sneezes, laughs, or jumps. Notice in her regular posture how she carries herself. She is out of alignment, her hips are thrusting forward, this is driving her knees forward. With a few simple cues, I brought her into optimal alignment. Ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles should all line-up. We simply adjusted her pelvis to where it should be. She is now ready for the next step in her Pelvis repair and retraining her core.

Interested in your Pelvic floor health? Schedule your FREE assessment today to see how your alignment is and let's improve the quality of your life. Contact Cheryl: cheryl@olakaola.com

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"As a trainer working with women in my age group, it became apparent there was a strong need to address these everyday discomforts. I recently became certified as a Core confidence Specialist to restore the Pelvic floor and re-train the inner Core.

Let’s all get feeling strong & confident in our core together." - Cheryl Coppa