The Link Between Sex And Your Pelvic Floor
“Chances are, you may not be that well acquainted with something you were born with – your Pelvic Floor.” First of all, where is my ‘Pelvic Floor’? Your pelvic floor muscles are located between your legs and form the base of your pelvis. The muscles attach to your pubic bone at the front and to the base of your spine (coccyx) at the back. The muscles are shaped like a sling and attach at the sides of your pelvis to the bones that you sit on. Your back passage (anus), vagina and urethra (tube from the bladder) all pass through the pelvic floor muscles. What does it do exactly? Your pelvic floor basically holds your pelvic organs in place – your uterus, bowel and bladder. It supports and gives you control over your bladder and bowel. It also affects the function of your vaginal muscles, which are involved in sexual intercourse. What factors can affect my pelvic floor? Pregnancy, age, the onset of the menopause, and gynaecological or pelvic surgery, e.g. a hysterectomy. What can go wrong? Any of the above factors can weaken your pelvic floor muscles. This means your pelvic organs are not fully supported and you may have less control of the release of urine, faeces (poo) or wind. Weakened pelvic floor muscles can also cause reduced sensitivity and pleasure during sex. In the most severe cases, there is a risk of pelvic organ prolapse, where one or more of the pelvic organs bulges into the vagina. Are the pelvic floor muscles involved in exercise? Yes, the pelvic floor muscles form the base of your ‘Core’ muscles. These muscles work with the deep abdominal (tummy) and back muscles and the diaphragm (breathing muscle) to support the spine and control the pressure inside the abdomen. During exercise, the internal pressure in your abdomen changes. For example, when you lift a weight the internal pressure increases, and when you put the weight down the internal pressure returns to normal. Ideally, the regulation of pressure within the abdomen happens automatically. When lifting a weight, the muscles of the core should work together well – the pelvic floor muscles lift, the abdominal and back muscles draw in to support the spine, and breathing is easy. In this ‘normal’ scenario, the pelvic floor muscles will respond appropriately to the increase in abdominal pressure. This means that the full functioning of your pelvic floor is also reliant on the other muscle groups within the torso (the Transversus abdominis, Multifidi and the diaphragm) working in good co-ordination. If there is any imbalance between the working of all these muscles, problems including the loss of urine when sneezing, may occur. Therefore, all of the muscles of your core need to be strong for your pelvic floor to work at its optimum. OK, so how do I strengthen my pelvic floor? First, you need to locate it! Sit on the arm of a chair or the edge of a table and imagine that you are trying to stop yourself from passing wind at the same time as stopping your flow of wee, mid-stream. The feeling is one of squeezing and lifting, or pulling up and in, around your front and back passages. You should squeeze hard enough to feel a little trembling in your vagina. If you pull hard enough, you may feel your lower tummy muscles tightening, but you shouldn’t feel anything above your belly button (Morkved et al, 2013). Try to hold this contraction for 6-10 seconds and then relax. Try to focus on feeling the difference between when the muscles are relaxed and when they are tight. You may feel more happening at the front, or you may feel it more around your bottom. As long as you can feel a tightening in at least one of these areas, you will be exercising your pelvic floor. You need to squeeze and lift without pulling in your upper tummy (above your belly button), or squeezing your legs together, or tightening your buttocks, and without holding your breath. …