First, we need to understand that the pelvic floor is more than the area between the penis/vagina, anus, and perineum. The pelvis is like a bowl that the pelvic floor lines so there are areas of the pelvic floor that can be accessed internally and then there are more areas that are not reachable by the index finger of the therapist. Just to make sure you know, pelvic floor therapists are not all physical therapists. In fact, chiropractors, occupational therapists, nurses, and medical doctors once having undergone the education on pelvic floor therapy are all pelvic floor therapists.
Where is the Pelvic Floor?
I have done a whole blog titled: ‘Where are the Pelvic Floor Muscles that I refer you to for detailed information on the pelvic floor, what influences the pelvic floor, and how to find the best therapist. For the sake of this blog, I will give more of a summary of the pelvic floor location, however.
The pelvic floor consists of 3 layers of muscle that can be determined by the different sections of the therapist’s index finger when inserted into the vagina or anus. Please check out my blog where I discuss the different layers in detail. The third layer is not fully reached by the index finger, especially the piriformis and obturator internus which are the hip stabilizing muscles. At the end of the day, when it comes to the internal manual work on the pelvic floor, the length of the therapist’s index finger becomes important!
The biggest mistake made in the treatment of the pelvic floor is to put the majority if not all of the focus of the treatment on the 3 layers which is more like 2 1/2 layers of the pelvic floor. The pelvis is not free-floating and the spine and hips are connected to it. Any dysfunction of the spine and hips will DIRECTLY influence and impact the pelvis and pelvic floor.
Why is the Floor of the Pelvis Important?
The pelvic floor is the inner lining of your pelvis; it consists of many muscles all of which are involved in every position of the pelvis at any given time. Let’s not forget that your pelvis holds many vital organs such as the prostate, ovaries, uterus, bladder, and parts of the intestine. If you are thinking that your ovaries and uterus are removed so you don’t have much to worry about, think again! The surgery comes with scar tissue and scar tissue negatively impacts the soft tissue in the immediate, and over time, surrounding areas. Any and all factors that impact the functionality of your pelvis play a huge role in the health of the pelvis and what it holds!
Your pelvis is the base of your skeletal system and its’ instability means instability in movement. Pelvic floor issues can stem from different reasons, some related to the nervous system, some genetic diseases, some trauma-related, and even as a result of side effects of medication. Then there is a lifestyle-related cause and even sports that heighten the issue. Regardless of the cause, the pelvic floor area gets weak and the weak pelvic floor feeds the other issues that are a part of the circle of decline that many times are looked at as if they are their own separate issues.
If you have a sedentary lifestyle -and yes even though you may go to the gym after work or participate in marathons often, you still are considered someone with a sedentary lifestyle- your pelvic floor is dysfunctional.
How Does Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Get Fixed?
Unless your pelvic floor and its influencers, the spine and hips, are addressed and unless a part of the treatment includes breath therapy, your pelvic floor issues are going to continue. We are in a much better place than we used to be a decade ago but the limitation to just the internal manual work with SOME reference to the spine and hips and breath vs a comprehensive treatment is going to allow for a continued lingering issue.
The comprehensive treatment of the pelvic floor as well as most questions people have about pelvic floor dysfunction are outlined in my blogs for your review. If you are tired of failed pelvic floor treatment, contact me for a 15 min. phone call to see what is going on.
