Pelvic Floor Muscles – Where are they? What do they do?

You may have heard people say ‘do your pelvic floor exercises’. But what are these muscles? Where are they found? What do they do? 

Here are the answers!

Where do I find these muscles?

The pelvic floor muscles hide away at the base of your pelvis, and create the ‘floor’ of your abdomen – hence they’re called pelvic floor muscles! The muscles are bowl-shaped and attach to the bony ring of the pelvis. They dip slightly in the middle and surround the 3 openings in women and two in men. The pelvic floor muscles are made up of 3 muscles that work together as a group.

What do the pelvic floor muscles do?

The pelvic floor muscles support the internal organs - your bladder, bowel, and in women, the uterus. The other major function of the pelvic floor muscles is to maintain continence – that is, to ensure you don’t leak wee or poo. The muscles contract together to close the openings and curve the canals so no urine or bowel contents can come out. If we didn’t have pelvic floor muscles, we couldn't stop ourselves from leaking. Some people with weak pelvic floor muscles find it challenging to delay getting to the toilet, leak with a cough, laugh, sneeze or with exercise.

How do I know if my pelvic floor muscles are weak?

This is a commonly asked question. Some of the signs of a weak pelvic floor include leaking urine or bowel contents,feeling a bulge or heaviness in your pelvic area, or having to rush to the toilet. You may only notice some of these if you have a full bladder or cough a lot. Whether you experience these symptoms often or only occasionally, they are signs that your muscles aren’t as strong as they could be.

 Having an assessment from a pelvic health physiotherapist is the most accurate way to know how strong your muscles are and if you are performing your pelvic floor exercises correctly. Those with post-graduate training in pelvic floor physiotherapy can assess what your muscles are like at rest, with a muscle contraction, or if there are any other reasons why you might be having concerns.

Issues with pelvic floor function are most likely to occur due to:

• Pregnancy and childbirth

• Menopause

• Obesity

• Constipation

• Increasing age

• Specific types of surgery such as prostatectomy (removal of all or part of the prostate) and hysterectomy (removal of all or part of the uterus and/or ovaries)

• Neurological and musculoskeletal conditions such as multiple sclerosis and arthritis

• Health conditions such as diabetes, stroke, heart conditions, respiratory conditions, and prostate problems, and

• Some medications

(Source: Continence Foundation of Australia)

Can anything be done to improve my pelvic floor muscle strength?

Absolutely! For most people performing pelvic floor exercises helps build muscle strength. You need to squeeze and lift these muscles upwards (not pushing them down) and working until your pelvic floor muscles fatigue.

Coming up…

The next blog will cover how to do these exercises correctly, and how to work out what is the right starting point for you.

If you would like more information in the meantime, sign up to a Grow Pilates membership for access to our educational videos that cover this in more detail.