When it comes to pelvic floor rehab, I follow a simple, basic protocol of exercise and movement.

I like the wonderful people that I work with to be able to do certain exercises first before they can progress onto anything else that may be in my bag of tricks; just to ensure that they have been able to understand why we go back to basics and feel how the movements will be able to make a difference.

By doing this, I cover ALL the basic stuff, discover where there's potential dysfunction elsewhere that's affecting their pelvic floor further up/down the chain, and really sow the seed that "it's all connected" and ways to feel reconnected to your body.

For now, I'm going to highlight 5 areas of the body that you've probably never even thought were connected to pelvic floor function or in fact dysfunction: 

Mobilising your foot

Did you know that tightness in your foot can refer tightness into the pelvic floor?

A lot of dysfunction in the foot stems from putting shoes on our children's feet and for us not to have spent time walking bare foot and allowing our feet to feel the ground beneath us and adapt to any changes in terrain.

So, if you add an immobile, switched off foot that's been crammed in tight, high-heeled shoes for however long you may have been wearing heels, it's likely to be affecting how you walk (your gait) which includes pelvic alignment and pelvic floor function further up the chain.

 Lengthening your hamstrings

Do you tuck your bum under a lot?

A lot of clients with pelvic floor dysfunction that come to see me display with a posterior tilted pelvis (that's where the back of the pelvis is tipped backwards / think tailbone tucked under).

The hamstrings in most people are very tight from sitting down too much.

Your hamstrings attach to your sitting bones, and if they're compromised - they'll just pull the back of the pelvis down with them. Which in turn, keeps the pelvic floor muscles in a tight set up.

Just for information - you do NOT want a tight pelvic floor.

You want a strong, supple, flexible one, and one way to get length back in your pelvic floor muscles is to work on flexibility of the hamstrings to improve pelvic alignment.

 Strengthening Your Bum

All the pelvic floor magic for me, happens at the back of the pelvis...

...and I'm talking about a good bit of glute activation here.

Do you think you have a flat bum? Do you have to wear a belt to hold your jeans up; and/or have you sat on your bum a lot during your life?

If you build strength back up in your bum, you’ll gain length and strength back in the pelvic floor.

Changing your breathing pattern

 I love it when a client comes to see me and when we start to talk about breathing that they can breathe, effortlessly into their ribcage, and it’s great to see their rib cage and their thoracic cavity widening each time they breathe in.

The only thing is, I rarely, if ever see this, particularly in clients with pelvic floor dysfunction.

There are many ways we can get oxygen into our system, and if you REALLY delve deep into the different breathing patterns people present with - it's an absolute minefield.

If you have a prolapsing organ or abdominal separation, these can be because of having too much pressure in your abdominal cavity.

If you learn to breathe better and you'll be able to offload the pressure safely up into the rib cage, and take the load off the pelvic floor, which you're probably pressing down on with every breath you take now. 

Building a reflexive core

How many times have you noticed that in class I don't say "engage your core", "draw your tummy in" and "pick up your floor" before moving in a challenging way?

The reason is - this ISN'T reflexive – it pre-empts movement and not a way that I choose to teach.

The core muscles should fire up when needed, and switch on just the right amount to take the load of what you're asking them to withstand, for example picking up your baby, or the washing basket off the floor.

Have you ever selected the annoying trolley/cart at the supermarket with the wonky wheel, and found that it stopped you dead in your tracks down one of the aisles?

Did you remember to pull your tummy in to protect your back here, or do you think your core switched on just enough to take the strain?

Can you see how pre-empting and "drawing in your abdominal muscles" isn't really that natural?

The clients I work with don't just learn a series of exercises from me - they learn how to use their bodies better, because our body is designed to look after itself, be protective and conserve energy.

If it can find an easy way of doing something, it will do so, and repeatedly, until that movement pattern has become habitual, potentially to the detriment of a joint's wear and tear, or a muscle's function.

So have a look at how you’re moving and check in with your body to see which muscles you automatically engage and how this makes your body feel. Then have another read through of the information above and make a few changes to your way of thinking and moving and start to notice the positive changes.