The Pelvic Floor is About More Than Kegels

The pelvic floor has received a lot more attention in recent years, particularly around pregnancy and postpartum recovery. But despite this, many women are still unsure what it actually does, or how it connects to the rest of the body.

I will be honest, before I had children, I rarely thought about my pelvic floor or how I was breathing. Like many women, it simply wasn’t something that was on my radar. Sometimes, however, life experience has a way of teaching us what matters, and now both pelvic floor health and breath mechanics are topics that sit close to my heart, both personally and in practice.

And if you don’t have children, please keep reading. This matters regardless of whether you are planning a family, have had children, or neither applies to you.

So, let’s dive in!

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sit at the base of the pelvis, sometimes referred to as the pelvic bowl. It plays an important role in supporting the bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs, as well as contributing to continence, stability, breathing, and pressure management throughout the body.

What many people don’t realise is that the pelvic floor doesn’t work in isolation.

It forms part of a pressure system alongside the diaphragm, deep abdominal muscles, and spine. You can think of these structures as working together as a team.

At the top sits the diaphragm, our primary breathing muscle. At the bottom sits the pelvic floor. Between them are the abdominal muscles and the spine, helping to provide support, movement, and control.

When we breathe in, the diaphragm gently lowers and the pelvic floor responds by lengthening and moving. When we breathe out, they move back together again. It is a beautifully coordinated system designed to help us manage pressure efficiently throughout the body.

However, modern life can place a lot of demands on this system. Pregnancy, birth, stress, breath holding, prolonged sitting, persistent coughing, heavy lifting, and even simply rushing through life can influence how we breathe and how pressure is managed. Sometimes this can contribute to symptoms such as pelvic heaviness, leaking, lower back discomfort, tension through the abdomen, or feeling like the body is constantly bracing.

The good news is that there are simple ways to begin supporting pressure management in everyday life. Before I go into that however, I wanted to touch upon an exercise you may already be familiar with…the Kegel exercises, which involve intentionally contracting the pelvic floor muscles to help improve strength and support.

For some women, these exercises can be very beneficial. However, they are not always the starting point. Just like any other muscle in the body, the pelvic floor needs to be able to both contract and relax. Some women already carry a significant amount of tension through their pelvic floor muscles without realising it. In these situations, repeatedly squeezing an already overactive muscle may not always be the most helpful approach. Instead, restoring movement, flexibility, and coordination would be a priority.

This is why understanding what your body needs is so important. For some women, improving strength is helpful. For others, learning how to relax, breathe, and coordinate the pelvic floor with the diaphragm may be the more appropriate first step.

So how do you know where you might sit on that spectrum?

Difficulty emptying your bowels, needing to strain, feeling as though you have to force your urine to pass, or discomfort during intercourse can sometimes be signs that the pelvic floor is holding more tension than it needs to. Equally, symptoms such as leaking when coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercising may indicate that further assessment would be helpful.

If you would like a detailed assessment of your pelvic floor, I would highly recommend seeing Tracey or Gayle at The Body Motion Company. They are able to carry out a specialist pelvic health assessment and provide tailored advice based on your individual needs.

If you would like to start supporting yourself right now, there are a couple of simple things you can try however…

The first is breathing out during effort. Whether you’re lifting a heavy shopping bag, standing up from a chair, carrying a child, or pushing a buggy uphill, gently breathing out can help your body manage pressure more effectively.

Similarly, try to notice whether you hold your breath when lifting, straining, or rushing through tasks. Many of us do this without even realising.

Secondly, take a moment to check in with your breathing throughout the day. Can you allow your ribs to gently expand as you inhale and soften as you exhale? The body is wonderfully connected, and sometimes small changes in how we breathe, move, and respond to stress can make a meaningful difference.

This is one of the reasons I am so interested in the relationship between the spine, nervous system, breathing, and pelvic health. Whilst chiropractic care is not formally a treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction, supporting healthy movement and function of the spine and nervous system may help your body adapt more comfortably to the physical demands placed upon it.

So, as I finish writing, here are a few questions for you to reflect on...

How are you breathing right now?

Are you holding tension anywhere?

Could you breathe out as you lift, carry, or move through your day?

Small things often matter more than we realise.

With love,

Sarah