{"id":6071,"date":"2023-07-28T23:22:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T16:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=6071"},"modified":"2023-07-28T23:22:04","modified_gmt":"2023-07-28T16:22:04","slug":"what-causes-pelvic-floor-dysfunction-7-common-culprits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=6071","title":{"rendered":"What Causes Pelvic Floor Dysfunction? 7 Common Culprits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"drop-cap text-big text-gray\"> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">F<\/span>or years, I was too shy to admit that I didn\u2019t know how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/pelvic-floor-activation\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/pelvic-floor-activation\/\">turn on my pelvic floor muscles<\/a>. I\u2019d go to workout classes and dread the moment the instructor would ask everyone to activate the area, because I knew my idea of sucking in my stomach couldn&#8217;t be right. As time has passed, I\u2019m happy to say I\u2019ve finally figured out I need to be aiming lower\u2014the muscles that stop a stream of urine, rather than my abs. More to the point, I finally learned why trainers have us trying to target this area in the first place.<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe pelvic floor is the home of a crucial set of muscles, tissues, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels that contribute to overall core strength and hold key organs like the bladder, bowel, and (for those who have it) the vagina and uterus in place,\u201d explains <a href=\"https:\/\/ohnut.co\/pages\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/ohnut.co\/pages\/about-us\">Emily Sauer, founder and CEO of Ohnut<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s more than a hammock to keep everything in. \u201cBeyond support for our pelvic organs, the pelvic floor allows us to control urination and defecation, helps with sexual functioning like orgasms, acts as a sump pump for our blood and lymph by contracting and pushing fluids back up against gravity, and helps to stabilize the pelvis and lumbar spine,\u201d adds pelvic physical therapist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pelvicgym.co\/bio\/corey-silbert-hazama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.pelvicgym.co\/bio\/corey-silbert-hazama\">Corey Silbert Hazama, DPT, OCS, CFMT<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a lot of responsibility. And yet many of us have weakness, or tightness, or other issues in the area: A <a href=\"https:\/\/medicine.uiowa.edu\/content\/study-data-25000-women-finds-least-32-have-pelvic-floor-disorder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/medicine.uiowa.edu\/content\/study-data-25000-women-finds-least-32-have-pelvic-floor-disorder\">2022 study<\/a> of 25,000 women found that 32 percent had at least one pelvic floor disorder.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-causes-pelvic-floor-dysfunction\/\" current-title=\"7 Surprising Things You\u2019re Probably Doing That Are Damaging Your Pelvic Floor\" current-image=\"GettyImages-what-causes-pelvic-floor-dysfunction-425x285.jpg\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2023-01-28\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-causes-pelvic-floor-dysfunction\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-causes-pelvic-floor-dysfunction\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-causes-pelvic-floor-dysfunction\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAny change in bowel or bladder function needs to get evaluated,\u201d warns Dr. Hazama. \u201cThere can also be indications to get your pelvic floor muscles evaluated if there is long-standing hip pain, upper hamstring pain, or lower back pain that has been treated traditionally but has not changed.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>7 everyday habits that are damaging your pelvic floor<\/h2>\n<p>What causes these pelvic floor issues? The culprits are more common than you might think.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Crossing your legs<\/h3>\n<p>As I write this, my legs are crossed, a big no-no, according to Dr. Hazama. (Note: Quickly uncrosses legs.) \u201cTalking the knee-over-knee kind, depending on which way you cross, it forces one side to rotate the pelvis forward onto the side of the leg crossing over,\u201d she says. \u201cThis creates a rotation through the pelvis and also changes the position of the sitz bones to be uneven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another issue is that we all have a preferred side. &#8220;This creates a pattern of pelvic asymmetry that makes it difficult to reverse and return to the other direction,&#8221; Dr. Hazama says.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Sucking in<\/h3>\n<p>During my formative years, I remember watching a video made by an unqualified YouTuber who encouraged fans to walk around sucking it in to &#8220;trick the body into becoming skinny.&#8221; While I\u2019m glad to be past that phase, sucking it in all the time can damage your diaphragm, since the habit doesn&#8217;t allow it to expand fully. \u201cThis prevents the pelvic floor from expanding and descending\u2014and we need that motion,\u201d says Dr. Hazama. \u201cAlso, if you\u2019re not using your diaphragm for breathing, you\u2019ll typically use your neck muscles, which can lead to neck pain.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>3. Squatting over public toilet seats<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cTo urinate fully, we need the pelvic floor to relax,\u201d says Dr. Hazama. \u201cWhen hovering over a toilet, we use all our leg muscles to keep us from falling\u2014which results in our pelvic floor muscles contracting to assist with stabilization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She adds that power peeing is a no-go as well. \u201cOur only job when we pee is to relax the muscles and sphincters around the bladder and let the detrusor do its job,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you increase the intra-abdominal pressure to push the pee out, you could inadvertently be contracting the muscles you want to relax.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>4. Wearing too-tight waistbands<\/h3>\n<p>Similar to sucking it in, wearing extra tight waistbands can physically block the diaphragm from expanding fully, says Dr. Hazama. But the issues go beyond the diaphragm. \u201cIt can constrict and create tension and immobility of abdominal muscle fascial layers, leading to organs gliding and sliding against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>5. Regularly donning high heels<\/h3>\n<p>As a five-foot girl, I definitely love heels during social situations. But Dr. Hazama warns against overdoing it. \u201cHeels result in hyperextending the knees and pushing the pelvis forward,\u201d she says. \u201cMaintaining an unnatural posture for long periods can result in an adaptively shortened posterior pelvic floor and conversely lengthened anterior pelvic floor, leading to bowel and bladder issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>6. Slouching<\/h3>\n<p>Slouching has the same effects as wearing heels. \u201cWhen we slouch, we change the shape of our torso,\u201d says Dr. Hazama. \u201cThis posturing inhibits core muscles and changes the symmetry of the pelvic floor, which can lead to pain.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/exercises-improve-your-posture\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/exercises-improve-your-posture\/\">Improving your day-to-day posture<\/a> isn\u2019t just about aesthetics\u2014it could actually help relieve pelvic health symptoms.<\/p>\n<h3>7. Straining to poop<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s tempting to \u201cgive it our all\u201d when we\u2019ve got an internal traffic jam down there. But this impulse can backfire, according to Dr. Hazama. \u201cWhen tightening around your buttocks, holding your breath, or sucking in your abs to push out a poop, it puts a lot of pressure on our pelvic floor muscles,\u201d she says. \u201cStraining could potentially put yourself into a tucked position, which adds tension and possible injury to the pudendal nerve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, try to relax during this time to allow the pelvic muscles to move out of the way. And if you often feel tempted to strain, take stock of whether you might need to make a lifestyle or diet change to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/constipation-relief\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/constipation-relief\/\">help BMs come more easily<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, I was too shy to admit that I didn\u2019t know how to turn on my pelvic floor muscles. I\u2019d go to workout classes and dread the moment the instructor would ask everyone to activate the area, because I knew my idea of sucking in my stomach couldn&#8217;t be right. As time has passed, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}