Pelvic floor muscle holding tension can be a barrier to usual rehabilitation. Whether there is pain, restriction, weakness or the pelvic floor muscles just haven’t been exercised there will always be benefit to releasing muscles.
Am I ready for the strengthening?
If you have pelvic pain you should usually wait until you can feel that you have control of the release to go on to strengthening. If you feel an increase in your pain by doing strengthening exercises – then you STOP and go back to releasing.
OK, my pelvic floor feels better, what now? Let’s get it stronger.
Please notice the difference
Exercise Series: 10 repetitions, 3 times/day
Try a combination of exercises and do them three times per day
Lie on your back with your knees bent (or if you prefer, lying on your side).
Later we will be progressing to sitting and upright and this is very important too.
THE EXERCISE BEGINS
Breathe (sigh) out before you start making sure that your lungs are completely empty.
Squeeze the pelvic floor in isolation, think of the back passage coming in from the back up and forwards towards the front to the bladder
- Squeeze at the back passage as it stopping yourself from passing wind
- Squeeze at the entrance to the vagina
- Squeeze as if stopping the flow of urine
- Make sure you don’t lift your chest
- Make sure you don’t squeeze your buttocks
Keep holding this for 5 seconds
DROP it back completely
Finish then with SNIFF FLOP & DROP
This has to be done without any breathing so that you can concentrate on the pelvic floor only
PROGRESS: When you can hold for 5 seconds, then progress on to 10 secs
Breathe (sigh) out before you start making sure that your lungs are completely empty.
Squeeze the pelvic floor in isolation, think of the back passage coming in from the back up and forwards towards the front to the bladder.
- Squeeze at the back passage as it stopping yourself from passing wind
- Squeeze at the entrance to the vagina
- Squeeze as if stopping the flow of urine
- Make sure you don’t lift your chest
- Make sure you don’t squeeze your buttocks
Keep holding this for 10 seconds and breathe in and out to your chest, just quiet breaths while you hold the pelvic floor in.
DROP the pelvic floor completely.
Finish then with SNIFF FLOP & DROP.
ALSO, in parallel to the 10 seconds, try this:
Breathe (sigh) out before you start making sure that your lungs are completely empty.
Squeeze the pelvic floor in isolation, think of the back passage coming in from the back up and forwards towards the front to the bladder.
- Squeeze at the back passage as it stopping yourself from passing wind
- Squeeze at the entrance to the vagina
- Squeeze as if stopping the flow of urine
- Make sure you don’t lift your chest
- Make sure you don’t squeeze your buttocks
Hold the muscles into the end of range and then PULSE FIVE times into the end of range OR
Hold into the end of range and drop quickly contract again quickly and drop quickly
DROP the pelvic floor completely
Finish then with SNIFF FLOP & DROP
Once after your five minutes breathing as a focused session
+ 2 more sets of 10 reps ON THE GO
i.e. sitting/standing over the course of the day
Pelvic floor strengthening is progressed by changing the position from lying to upright and then practicing in different positions with increased loading. This can be practicing pelvic floor exercise as a part of general exercise or by using exercise cones. Biofeedback units can be very beneficial.