How Stress Affects Your Pelvic Floor
Many people (myself included!) hold tension in their muscles. You may experience jaw pain, tension headaches, or other symptoms related to constantly tightening your muscles in response to stress.
What most people don’t realize? Stress and muscle tension can cause pelvic health issues.
Not sure if you hold tension? Let’s do a body check so you can get more aware of your body. Do you:
-Clench your jaw or grind your teeth?
-Have tight shoulders that are practically up near your ears?
-Constantly tighten your abdomen?
-Clench your butt?
When muscles are constantly contracting and tight, this can lead to pain. The pain can be in the area of tightness, like jaw pain from clenching your jaw, or it can be referred pain. Referred pain means that you experience pain in an area that is caused by another area of the body. An example of referred pain is tightness in your neck or back that causes a headache.
So what does all this have to do with your pelvic floor? If you do any of the muscle tension habits above, you are also probably tightening your pelvic floor muscles. And just like any other muscle in the body, if the pelvic floor muscles become overactive and are constantly contracting, issues can arise.
Pelvic floor overactivity can lead to:
Pelvic, abdominal, back, groin, or hip pain
Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
Sexual dysfunction including problems with orgasm, pain, leakage, and erectile dysfunction
Constipation
Urinary urgency and frequency
Urinary, stool, and gas incontinence
Difficulty or pain with emptying the bladder or bowel
Symptoms that mimic a urinary tract infection (UTI)
If you have any of these symptoms, make sure you see a healthcare provider for a complete workup. If the pelvic floor muscles are involved, then you should work with a pelvic health physical therapist. To learn all about what to expect if pelvic health physical therapy, read my blog post “Pelvic Health Physical Therapy 101”.
How to relax your body and pelvic floor
Body Scan
Several times throughout the day, pause and pay attention to what your body is doing. Start at your jaw, then work down to your shoulders, chest, abdomen, glutes, pelvic floor, and feet. If you notice that any of these areas are tight, try to let them go and be heavy to relax them. Sometimes it’s helpful to contract them and then let go. If this is challenging for you to both recognize the tightness and let go, start with just becoming aware first, then work on relaxing the muscles.
Diaphragmatic breathing
Breathe slowly and deeply in through your nose to fill your chest, ribs, and abdomen. Pause for 4 seconds, then exhale slowly through the mouth. Repeat this for 1 minute several times during the day and whenever you feel the tension and related symptoms.
Practice Mindfulness
It’s easy to get caught up with everyday stressors and be on autopilot. Mindfulness is the act of awareness and being present in the moment without judgment. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, including meditation and paying close attention to your senses (touch, sound, sight, smell, and taste). My favorite way to practice mindfulness is going for a mindful walk. I intentionally slow my pace and tune into what I’m smelling, seeing, and hearing. It’s incredible what details you notice when you are mindful on a walk!
Stretch
Many stretches can help with relaxing the pelvic floor muscles. Two of my favorites are child’s pose and happy baby. To see me explain and show these stretches, watch this short video on my Instagram.
When managing stress, muscle tension, and pain, it’s essential to be consistent with what works for you. It’s not a one-time thing! It may be helpful for you to set reminders on your phone or make a log to stay on track. You can do it!
