Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Exercises

Contrary to popular belief, pelvic floor exercises aren’t just for women, they are important for men’s health too.

Pelvic floor physical therapy exercises can range from gentle exercises to more intense strengthening exercises that are designed to improve muscle tone, joint mobility, joint relaxation, and bladder control. They are important for your overall health and the sooner you begin doing them the more you will benefit long term.

You can start this therapy at home by doing one or two of the exercises. If you have a physical therapist or a physical therapist assistant, he or she will show you more complex exercises that can be done in a physical therapy office or at home.

If you are experiencing pelvic floor dysfunctions or incontinence, it is important to treat these issues quickly. You should see your doctor who will work on the source of the problem – your pelvic floor muscles. It’s a group of muscles that supports the bladder, uterus, and bowel.

Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercises

Pelvic floor exercises can take up to 6 months to show the results but come with many benefits. Pelvic floor exercises are the best way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and here are just a few of the benefits.

• Pelvic floor exercises can help to prevent future injuries
• Pelvic floor exercises can help pregnant women
• Pelvic floor exercises can help reduce the chances of developing bladder or bowel problems
• Pelvic floor exercises can help people with prolapse
• Pelvic floor exercises can help people with pelvic organ prolapse after an operation
• Pelvic floor exercises can help people with incontinence and many more conditions

The sooner you begin your pelvic floor exercises the better your benefits will be long-term. These exercises are some of the best preventative care that you can do for yourself.

The Best Pelvic Floor Exercises

One way to understand the pelvic floor is to imagine the human body as an inverted tree. The roots are the pelvic floor muscles. The trunk is the core. The branches are the upper and lower limbs. The leaves are the extremities or skin. The pelvic floor muscles are much like the roots of the tree in that they are continuous with the trunk, limbs, and leaves. The pelvic floor muscles serve an important function in body function much like the roots of a tree do.

When doing these pelvic floor exercises at home you can use your favorite PT mobile app to track your progress, communicate with your PT, and watch how-to videos on each exercise.

1.) Kegels

When you cough, sneeze, laugh or jump, are you losing urine? Try pelvic muscle training. It contracts and relaxes the muscles of your pelvic floor, which may be the cause of leakage or uncontrollable urination. You might want to consider the pelvic exercise known as Kegels if you experience any of these symptoms.  Stop the flow of urine midstream to identify the right muscles for this exercise. These are your pelvic floor muscles. Kegels work by contracting these muscles and holding them for five seconds, releasing them for five seconds. Repeat and do sets of these increasing the volume over time. Although you may think this is a women’s only exercise, it is a great exercise for men too.

2.) Squats

There are many benefits to performing a squat, making it one of the most important moves. To make sure your form is good, focus on how your back should be, and make sure you do not arch your back too much. You should also make sure that your knees do not go over your toes. Squats engage and work the largest muscle groups in your body. Because of this, they have one of the biggest impacts on your overall strength improvement.

3.) Bridge

The bridge is a great exercise for the glutes and pelvic floor muscles. Doing the move correctly will make you feel it, but it doesn’t matter if this exercise is done without weights. This workout can be done as long as the spine is aligned and the glutes are contracted.  You may want to try this on a stability ball for some added challenge. To set yourself up, place your feet on the ball while lying back on the ground with your back flat.

4.) Split tabletop

Pilates is about strong muscles and good form. The tabletop position is the foundation of many moves and includes the hip and pelvic floor exercises that can be enhanced with a split. Muscles worked include your abs, hips, and pelvic floor. Try searching Youtube for how to do split tabletop exercises to watch some helpful videos.

5.) Bird dog

If you want an exercise that is balance-intensive and stability-building, bird dog may be the move for you. This exercise engages many muscles at the same time, including your abs, back, glutes, and hips. Try searching Youtube for ‘how to do bird dog exercise’ to watch some helpful videos.

Both men and women can benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy exercises so everyone should start trying these to improve their health.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the pelvic floor is a fairly large group of muscles and other connective tissues in the lower abdomen which support different body parts. The pelvic floor helps support a person’s bladder, uterus, and small intestine. The pelvic floor also supports the pelvic organs and the lower back.

Physiotherapists, physical therapists, and physical therapist assistants can help women learn pelvic floor exercises to help them cope with the effects of pregnancy and childbirth on the pelvic floor and to prevent or treat urinary incontinence.

These exercises will help you to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and will not produce any harmful side effects. These exercises should also help you to prevent or delay future bladder and bowel problems as well as bring many other long-lasting health benefits.