Pelvic floor health as you age

What is your pelvic floor?

Your pelvic floor is a layer of muscles that sits between your tailbone and pubic bone. These muscles support your pelvic organs — this includes your bladder, bowel, and uterus. And are essential for urinary control, bowel control, and postnatal recovery.

If these muscles become overstretched, it can lead to:

• urinary incontinence
• decreased sexual sensation
• pelvic organ prolapse (POP)

Pelvic floor health in your 20s

Your pelvic muscles are usually at peak health in your 20s. But it’s still very important to take care of your pelvic health from a young age. High-intensity exercise, heavy lifting, excessive sex, or being overweight can lead to pelvic floor damage. If this happens, common symptoms include:

• urine leaking when you cough or sneeze.
• frequent constipation.
• lower back pain.
• discomfort during sex

So it’s recommended to start pelvic strengthening exercises, like Kegel exercises, in your 20s — a pelvic floor trainer can help.

Pelvic floor health and pregnancy

During childbirth, your vagina and pelvic floor muscles can stretch excessively. 70% of expectant and new mums suffer from pelvic floor-related issues. To minimise your risk of incontinence after pregnancy, you should start pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy. Or even if you’re planning to get pregnant. A strong pelvic floor might even help ease childbirth.

Pelvic floor health during menopause

Common menopause symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. But less commonly talked about is a weakened pelvic floor — over 50% of all menopausal women suffer from urinary incontinence.

This happens because of dropping oestrogen levels — which helps keep your pelvic floor healthy and tight. Some signs your pelvic floor is weak include:

• urinary incontinence
• a persistent urge to pee
• painful urination
• pelvic pain or discomfort — especially during sex
• lower back pain

It’s never too late to start working on strengthening your pelvic floor. Menopause might be inevitable, but the complications resulting from a weakened pelvic floor don’t have to be.

How to take care of your pelvic floor

The best ways to help keep your pelvic floor healthy include:

• staying active
• eating a healthy diet
• maintaining a healthy weight
• avoiding very heavy lifting
• not smoking
• doing Kegel exercises

What exactly are Kegel exercises?
Kegel exercises are exercises that strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. They involve contracting and releasing your pelvic floor muscles in various exercises.

If you’ve never done Kegels before, the first thing to do is find the correct muscles. You can do this by attempting to stop your pee mid-flow. It’s also important to ensure you’re “lifting” up your muscles and not “pushing” down — a pelvic floor trainer like the Elvie trainer can help with this.

You must be consistent with your exercises — three sets of five repetitions daily is a great way to start.