Why is the pelvic floor important?

You’ve mentioned the pelvic floor a number of times already.  Can you say a bit more about it and how its connection with Pilates?

What is the pelvic floor? 

The pelvic floor is a set of muscles, ligaments and tissues that act like a hammock that supports the organs of the pelvis. How do you locate these muscles? They can be felt by the stopping and starting urine flow, or the muscles used in preventing a bowel movement. 

The pelvic floor is important in providing support of the pelvic organs, i.e. bladder, intestines, uterus (in women), in maintaining continence as part of the urinary and anal sphincters. If the muscles become weak or the ligaments or tissues are stretched or damaged the pelvic organs or small intestine may drop down and protrude, that is, a prolapse occurs. The disorder is named according to which organ is affected. i.e. prolapsed rectum. If the prolapse is mild, Kegel exercises can help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. 

Kegel exercises are any of various exercises involving controlled contraction and release of the muscles of the pelvic floor. The Kegel exercises involve contracting and relaxing these muscles. The contraction and relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles can be done anywhere, any time. Throughout a Pilates session the pelvic floor is always incorporated. During the exhalation, the pelvic floor muscles are contracted which helps engage the transverse abdominus muscles , the deepest layer of the abdominal muscles, which results in that flattening and stretching sensation of the abdominals. During inhalation, the pelvic floor muscles are gently relaxed. This process is repeated throughout the entire Pilates session. 

Ideally you want to practice Kegel exercises throughout the day. Improvements can be seen anywhere from three to eight weeks. However, the discipline to perform these exercises on their own can be challenging. Incorporating these exercises into a workout for the rest of the body, as in a Pilates class, ensures that the pelvic floor muscles do in fact get exercised. 

When the pelvis is not aligned it will cause spinal and musculoskeletal problems. Some of the possible problems are frozen shoulder, hip and sciatic pain extending into the thigh and aggravated knee problems. Many of these problems will disappear by maintaining a stable pelvis. 

Two common pelvic problems

• Pelvic torsion twisting of one wing (ilium) backwards or forwards causing one leg to be shorter than the other. 
• Pelvic side to side tilt causing one leg to be longer than the other. 

Strengthening the muscles around the pelvis i.e. the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor, will help keep the pelvis straight and stable resulting in less pain due to instability. Another symptom of weak pelvic floor muscles is incontinence. This is another post!