Tag: pelvic pain

Understanding Pelvic Floor Tension: Causes, Symptoms, and Expert Solutions

Understanding Pelvic Floor Tension: Causes, Symptoms, and Expert Solutions

Posted on by Monica

Pelvic floor tension is a common yet often overlooked condition that can affect people of all ages and genders. The pelvic floor muscles, a group of muscles situated at the base of the pelvis, play a crucial role in supporting our core, controlling bladder and bowel function, and maintaining overall stability. When these muscles become tense, they can lead to a variety of uncomfortable and sometimes debilitating symptoms. In this blog post, we will delve deeper into the causes, symptoms, and solutions for pelvic floor tension.

pelvic pain

Understanding Pelvic Floor Tension

The pelvic floor muscles are a complex network of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that act as a supportive hammock for the pelvic organs. These muscles are involved in various essential functions, including:

Supporting Organs: They support the bladder, uterus (in women), and rectum.

Bladder and Bowel Control: They help regulate urination and defecation.

Core Stability: They are vital for maintaining core stability and preventing issues like lower back pain.

Sexual Function: These muscles are involved in sexual function and can influence sexual comfort and pleasure.

Common Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Tightness

  1. Tailbone Pain: The pelvic floor muscles are intricately connected to the tailbone, and tension in this area can cause discomfort and pain in the tailbone region.
  2. Painful Intercourse: For many individuals, pelvic floor tension can result in painful intercourse due to the muscles’ inability to relax during sexual activity.
  3. Pain with Medical Exams: Routine medical exams and procedures may become painful, as the pelvic floor muscles are involved in these examinations.
  4. Hip Pain and Back Pain: Pelvic floor tension can radiate discomfort to the hips and lower back, causing chronic pain and discomfort.
  5. Leaking and Bladder Urgency: Tension in the pelvic floor can interfere with your ability to control bladder function, leading to leaking and a sense of urgency.

Common Causes of Pelvic Floor Tension

  1. Trauma, Birth, and Surgery: Childbirth, particularly vaginal delivery, and surgical procedures in the pelvic area can lead to pelvic floor tension. Trauma from accidents or injuries can also be a factor.
  2. Weakness in Other Areas of the Body: Weakness in surrounding muscle groups or poor posture can contribute to pelvic floor tension as the body compensates for the lack of support.
  3. Stress and Anxiety: Stress and anxiety can manifest physically in the form of muscle tension, including the pelvic floor. This tension can exacerbate the symptoms mentioned above
tailbone pain and pelvic floor tension

How to Address Pelvic Floor Tightness

The good news is that pelvic floor muscle tension can be effectively managed and treated. The key is to seek professional help from a skilled pelvic floor physical therapist who specializes in addressing this condition. Some of the treatments and techniques we use include:

  1. Skilled Myofascial Work: Targeted manipulation of the muscle and connective tissue to release tension and restore mobility.
  2. Dry Needling: A technique that uses thin needles to relieve muscle tension and promote relaxation.
  3. Therapeutic Exercise: Tailored exercises to strengthen and relax the pelvic floor and surrounding muscles.
  4. Central Nervous System Down Regulation: Techniques to calm the nervous system and reduce stress-related tension in the pelvic floor. Diaphragmatic breathing can be a great place to start.
  5. Behavior and Habit Modification: Guidance on adopting healthy habits and behaviors that support pelvic floor health.

Remember that pelvic floor muscle pain and tightness is a treatable condition, and you don’t have to suffer in silence. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms related to pelvic floor tension, seek help from a qualified pelvic floor physical therapist who can provide personalized care and help you regain your comfort and quality of life.

Conclusion

Pelvic floor tightness is a condition that can significantly impact your quality of life, but with the right approach and professional guidance, it can be effectively managed and treated. Understanding the causes, recognizing the symptoms, and seeking help from a skilled pelvic floor physical therapist is the first step towards restoring your pelvic health and overall well-being.

If you have any questions or concerns related to pelvic pain, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I am here to support you on your journey to a healthier and more comfortable life.

Stay tuned for more informative updates in the future!

Keeping you moving like a mother,

Dr. Monica Frydach

Moving Like A Mother Physical Therapy and Wellness

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Hints for Happy Healthy Hips

Hints for Happy Healthy Hips

Posted on by Monica

Our hips are pretty cool joints. The hips and the shoulders are the only two joints in our body that are ball and socket joints. This means that the hip can move in many different directions. The six main directions the hip can move are forward (flexion), kick to the outside (abduction), kick to the inside (adduction), backwards (extension), rotates inward (internal rotation), and rotates outward (external rotation). But with more power comes more responsibility.

The hips are very important joints in our total body movement, function, and well being. Unfortunately, the hips can be somewhat temperamental and cause various aches, pains, and even weird snapping sensations. Check out what causes these problems and helpful hints and exercises for happy, healthy hips.

Hip Pain

Problems or pain in the hips can feel like low back pain, groin pain, or even pelvic pain. Because the hips are such complex joints there are many muscles, ligaments, and other components that all need to be working in synchrony for the hips to function properly.

Some of the common causes of hip pain include:

  • Joint laxity (such as during pregnancy)
  • Muscle weakness
  • Prolonged positions (especially sitting)
  • Muscle or tissue tightness
  • Obesity or sudden weight gain (pregnancy again)
  • Labral tear, bursitis, arthritis, or other condition that would need to be evaluated and treated by the appropriate medical professional

Hip pain; happy healthy hips

Pain in the front of the hip:

Pain or tightness felt in the front of the hip may be due to prolonged or excessive sitting. Prolonged sitting shortens the muscles in the front of our hips, our hip flexors. When theses muscles become shortened they often become weak. This can present as a tightness sensation. This tightness feeling is the body trying to provide some stability to compensate for that hip flexor weakness. They best way to combat this is to actually strengthen the hip flexors.

Another sensation often felt in the front of the hip is pinching. This is may be felt with motions that involve flexing your hip such as squats or stairs. Sometimes a snapping or popping sensation is felt on the front of the hip. Have no fear. This is usually just the hip flexor muscle rolling over another boney structure in your hip. The best treatment for this sensation is again to strengthen your hip flexors and your abdominal muscles. You might want to try some of these core strengthening exercises to build abdominal strength.

Pain in the side of the hip:

Problems can also occur on the outside of the hip. Muscle tightness of the piriformis or glutes can cause pain and discomfort in this area. Try some of these piriformis stretches to relieve that tightness. Again, you might also experience a snapping sensation felt on the outside of your hip. This is often your iliotibial band, or ITB. Your ITB is a long thick band of fascia. The snapping sensation occurs when your ITB snaps over a boney aspect of your hip (the greater trochanter). This is often due to poor alignment, tightness, or gluteal weakness. Try strengthening your gluteal muscles to prevent or decrease this hip popping sensation.

Pain in the back or groin:

Pain felt near your lower back or the back side of your hip may be due to hamstring tightness or pelvic dysfunction. Be sure to check out my post devoted entirely to pelvic pain and try out some of these exercises to reset your pelvis. Many people with “bad hips” may also experience groin pain. Groin pain may also actually be due to poor hip function and mobility. Keep reading to find out why mobility matters and how to get your hips movin and groovin.

Hip mobility; healthy hips

Hip Mobility Exercises

Hip mobility is very important for the prevention of hip pain. Mobility is the ability to take your joint through its full active range of motion.

Having sufficient mobility to a joint can:

  • reduces stiffness
  • decrease soreness
  • improve blood flow
  • decrease stress on surrounding joints

As previously mentioned many of us spend much of our day sitting. And even those of us who are up moving around, standing, or walking, are not regularly taking our hip joints through their full range of motion. This leads to tightness, weakness, and immobility.

Try out some of these stretches and exercises to improve your hip mobility and help you get some happy healthy hips:

Stretches:

Hip Flexor Stretch

Lay on your stomach. Using your hand reach around and gently pull your foot towards your buttocks. If you can not reach your foot you can use a towel or belt looped around your foot. Hold at least 30 seconds

Pigeon Pose

Cross one leg in front of your body while the other leg is extended back behind you. Gently lean forward over the front leg. Hold at least 30 seconds.

Butterfly Pose

Sitting place your feet together with your knees flailing outwards. Gently lean forward between your knees. Hold at least 30 seconds.

Mobility Exercises:

Side Lunge

Start standing and lunge deeply over one leg while keeping your opposite knee straight. You should feel a stretch near your inner thigh and groin. Repeat to the opposite side.

Standing CARs

Start in a standing position. Lift your knee up as high as you can without rounding your lower back. Keep your knee up and move your knee to the outside. Keep the knee there and rotate the hip inwards and backwards. Finally bring the knee back down so it is in line with the standing leg. Repeat 5 times each leg.

Seated Mobility Flow

Start in a seated position. Rotate your body and hips such that you are side sitting. Rise to kneeling position and thrust hips forward over your front leg. Slowly return to sitting and repeat on the opposite side. (HINT: this is great practice for getting up off the floor without using your hands)

What’s Next?

Our hips are a very important part of our body. Much of the force that is placed on our body from standing and walking is transferred through our pelvis and our hips. Our hips need to be mobile and strong for optimal function and minimal pain. Feel free to drop a comment with any other questions you might have about the hips. Or follow me on Instagram at @movinglikeamother for more tips, tricks, and quick advice.

Exercises for Hip Pain

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Is it Normal to Pee When You Sneeze?

Is it Normal to Pee When You Sneeze?

Posted on by Monica
pee when you sneeze after babt
pee when you cough postpartum

So you had a baby… congrats! Isn’t it amazing what your body was able to do? You grew a child! You literally grew a few tiny cells to a full blown 6, 7, 8… maybe even 10lb sweet baby. How beautiful. But perhaps now you are experiencing some things that aren’t so beautiful? Maybe your friend says something hilarious; or your hay fever has you sneezing; or you cough after taking a sip of water and…oops…a little pee comes out. Yikes. But that’s normal after having a baby, right? FALSE! Peeing when you sneeze, cough or laugh is common, but it is NOT normal.

What is the pelvic floor?

So let’s start with a little anatomy lesson. Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that hold the bladder and rectum in place. Think of your pelvic floor as a hammock. It lies on the bottom of your core supporting all your internal organs, and perhaps, a growing baby. The pelvic floor is made up of muscles, and therefore it can be stretched and/or strengthened.

Pelvic floor during pregnancy and postpartum

So now let’s think about pregnancy. For months you grow a baby in your uterus that sits on the pelvic floor. And the combined weight of the baby, the placenta, and extra fluid places quiet a bit of extra weight on these pelvic floor muscles. This causes the pelvic floor to stretch out and the muscles that close the urethra (where the pee comes out) to become weak.

What is normal?

As previously mentioned the pelvic floor is a group of muscles that supports our bladder and rectum. When they are strong and functioning properly we are able to contract and relax them in order to control when we go to the bathroom. Normal pelvic floor function means you should be able to run, jump, etc. without unexpected urine leakage.

What is not normal?

Urinary leakage in women (especially postpartum) is common, but not normal. You shouldn’t leak urine just like you shouldn’t need glasses for “normal” function. When we cough, laugh, sneeze, run, or jump there is increased pressure inside the core and excessive stress is placed on the pelvic floor. This can cause an involuntary leakage of urine and is referred to as stress incontinence.

Stress incontinence

Stress incontinence occurs when the muscles and connective tissue that surround the urethra become weak, which is common after pregnancy. When extra stress is placed upon the pelvic floor these muscles are unable to appropriately contract in order to keep the urethra closed. If left untreated the muscles can continue to get weaker making leakage more common.

Aging and weakness

New moms are not the only women to suffer from pelvic floor weakness and stress urinary incontinence. As we age our muscles and connective tissue can also get progressively weak. Again this can lead to unexpected urine leakage during times when the pelvic floor is unable to withstand extra pressure placed upon on it. Other signs of pelvic floor weakness or dysfunction include trouble having a bowl movement, low back pain, and pain with sex.

How can we fix it?

So what can be done if you believe you have pelvic floor problems? Start with talking to your doctor. Every pregnancy is different and every woman is different so you should always speak with the appropriate medical professional regarding your unique case.

Exercise:

Just like with any muscle, the best way to make it function properly is to make it strength and length. And one of the most common exercises for specifically strengthening the pelvic floor is a kegel. A kegel is a contraction of your pelvic floor muscles. Many describe a kegel as stopping the flow of urine while peeing. Personally my favorite cue for performing a kegel is to imagine drinking through a straw with your vagina. Go ahead and laugh but I bet you’re doing it right now.

But pelvic floor is not just about kegels. The body is a chain and the pelvic floor does not function solo. There are many other muscle groups that need to be considered if you are suffering from incontinence (refer to my “Pop- Can” core post). Some of these muscle groups include your core and your pelvic stabilizers.

Physical Therapy:

If you are peeing when you cough, sneeze, laugh etc. the best thing you can do is seek a referral for women’s health physical therapy. Depending on where you live in the U.S. you may need an script (order) from your doctor.

Physical therapists who specialize in the pelvic floor are are able to evaluate and treat your unique symptoms. No two pregnancies and no two women are the exact same. The muscles that are weak or too tight will not be the same for every woman.

Why do women in the U.S. think it is normal?

So why do so many women think it’s normal to pee after having a baby? The answer is because there is a significant lack of knowledge and discussion about pelvic floor function. Did you know in France women are required to go to a pelvic floor therapist at 6 weeks postpartum and each woman has on average 10 pelvic floor therapy appointments? In the U.S. we have one postpartum visit with our OB, and pelvic floor function is not readily discussed. Hopefully, that can change.

What’s next?

This post just scratches the surface about pelvic floor function and dysfunction. And while this might be longest post I have written to date I wanted to try and keep it fairly short and sweet for now. We could dive much deeper into pelvic floor function, treatment, and prevention but I will save that for another day. Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message with any questions you might have about pelvic floor therapy. Let’s open up about pelvic floor function! 

–Monica

Sciatica: A real pain in the butt (what causes it & why)

Sciatica: A real pain in the butt (what causes it & why)

Posted on by Monica

We all know being a mom can be a real pain in the butt. But what about when you actually have pain in your butt? Now that is just not fair! If you are having aching, numbness, or sharp pain from your butt down the back of your leg you may be experiencing sciatica. Sciatica is a word that gets tossed around a lot but what actually is sciatica and why do some women get it?

What actually is sciatica?

Moms with sciatica

Sciatica is an irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body and starts at the base of your spine, runs through your pelvis/gluteal region and down your leg to innervate most of your lower leg. Sciatica can feel like a burning, aching, or shooting pain and is most often felt only on one leg. It follows the path of the sciatic nerve (through the butt, down the back of the leg and into the foot). Sciatic nerve irritation can cause numbness, weakness, or pins and needles sensation in your leg. Sometimes it can even feel like an electric shock sensation down your leg. All of these symptoms can lead to pain and discomfort with walking, standing or sitting.

Ok, so what causes sciatica?

What is sciatica First, it’s important to note that sciatica is a symptom, not a condition. There is usually some condition in your body that is causing the sciatica to occur. Most often sciatica is caused by a herniated disc or spinal narrowing which can occur from prolonged stress or an acute injury to the lumbar spine. Sciatica can also be caused by tightness of the muscles around the gluteal/pelvis region. One of the most common muscles to irritate the sciatic nerve is the piriformis muscle. The sciatic nerve travels over, through, or under this muscle so adhesions or tightness of the piriformis can result in compression and irritation of the nerve. Thirdly, instability and laxity of the ligaments and muscles of the pelvis can cause certain areas through which the sciatic nerve travels to have excessive pressure and therefore, irritation. This is often the case in pregnant women.

How common is sciatica & who gets it?

Pregnancy sciaticaThose who have physically demanding jobs that involve a lot of bending, lifting, or standing typically tend to put more pressure on their spine which can result in disc herniation or degeneration of the spine. This places them at increased risk of developing sciatica. Similarly, but on the opposite end of the spectrum those who work jobs the involve a lot of desk work and prolonged sitting are also at risk. Most people do not have good posture during prolonged sitting which will irritate your spinal posture muscles and potentially compress your discs in your spine. Furthermore, inactivity and prolonged sitting causes your muscles to become shortened and tight especially around the hips and pelvis.

And as previously mentioned, pregnant women are more susceptible to developing sciatica. A gradually changing posture; the hormone relaxin coursing through the body which causes the ligaments of the pelvis to become unstable; and the increased pressure on the uterus and pelvic muscles creates a perfect storm for sciatic nerve irritation.

How do we fix sciatica?

Treating sciaticaYou should always speak with the appropriate health care provider if you are experiencing prolonged or unusual back or leg pain. But if you are looking to avoid or relieve some of the nagging pain sciatica can bring try out some of these tips to get some relief.

Activity Modification:

If you have a physical job try to sit briefly or stretch to avoid prolonged pressure on the low back or pelvis. Avoid prolonged standing in one position by placing one foot up on a small step or raised surface to reduce pressure on the lumbar spine. If you have a sedentary job make sure to get up and move around several times throughout the day.

Stretch:

Below are some stretches particularly for the gluteal or piriformis muscles; the most common muscles that compress or irritate the sciatic nerve. Learn more about back pain and helpful stretches for low back pain in motherhood here. 

  • Stretch for sciaticaStretch to treat sciaticaChild’s pose – Sit your bottom back towards your heels and stretch your arms forward. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat x 3

 

 

 

  • Stretch to treat sciaticaSeated piriformis stretch– Cross the affected leg over the thigh of your other leg. Gently press your knee downwards and lean forward over your leg while maintaining a straight low back. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat x 2

 

 

  • Stretch to treat sciaticaSupine piriformis stretch– Cross the affected leg over the thigh of your other leg. Reach and grab your unaffected leg and bring it towards your chest. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat x 2. Can also be performed in a seated position on the floor.

Massage:

Massage for sciaticaMassage is another great way to reduce muscle spasm or tightness which may be contributing to sciatic nerve irritation. If you don’t have access to a masseuse (or your husband can’t massage to save his life) you can use a tennis ball to self massage. Simply place the tennis ball under your painful side while sitting; move over the top of the tennis ball using your body weight to press into any tender or painful regions around your hip/buttocks. If you find a particularly tender area hang out there to encourage the muscle to release.

Strengthen:

Exercise for sciaticaI will never be done stressing how important it is to have strong and stable muscles. Stability prevents the body from moving in bad ways that can cause pain and discomfort. You can start with the 6 pelvic stability exercises you should be doing. And check out my next blog post this week for more booty work to keep you movin and groovin with less pain.

What’s next?

Again you should always speak with the appropriate medical professional as no two people or their symptoms are the same. If something does not feel good or seems to make the pain worse, stop. There are many possible contributors to sciatica . Lumbar degeneration, core weakness, muscle imbalances/tightness and excessive pressure on the pelvic muscles are common contributors to sciatica pain. Later this week I will post some more exercises that focus on your glutes to help stabilize your pelvis.  So be sure to come back and check it out.

–Monica