Did you know that pelvic floor issues like leaks, incontinence, pain, and prolapse affect huge numbers of women?
Up to 50% of women will experience pelvic organ prolapse[1] and up to 80% of women will experience incontinence at some point in their lives.[2]
These issues can happen to anyone at any age but they disproportionately affect women because some of the biggest risk factors for these issues are unique to women, like pregnancy, birth, and menopause.
This matters because women with these issues are less likely to exercise which can lead to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and decreased bone health. They also have increased rates of anxiety and depression.
These numbers are shocking but what you probably don’t know is that for most women, these issues are preventable and treatable.
I’ll say it again – leaking is not a natural part of ageing. It’s a sign that something is not quite right and that means, it can be helped.
Big companies promoting incontinence pads would have you believe that leaking a bit of wee when you cough, laugh, jump, or sneeze is normal, but it’s really not.
Women are so good at ‘putting up with things’ – especially uncomfortable, messy things – that we’ve just accepted our lot when it comes to incontinence – we’d prefer to pretend it’s not happening and crack the odd joke than talk about it or ask for help.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you CAN do something about it.
Taking care of your pelvic floor health is considered to be so important that the NICE guidelines[3] recommend girls as young as 12 should be receiving pelvic floor education – but that’s a recommendation rather than a reality.
So what exactly is pelvic floor health and how can you make it part of your self care routine?
‘Just do your kegels’ is a gross oversimplification.
Kegels (isolated pelvic floor squeezes) are the first line of defence against pelvic floor dysfunction because they have high rates of success and few side effects.[4] But they’re just part of the wider picture.
Your pelvic floor is connected to so many vital functions in your body including your breathing, your fight or flight response, your sexual function, your bladder and bowel function, and how you move around, that it makes sense to consider a more holistic approach.
Looking after this vital body part means learning how to adjust your diet and lifestyle to remove common risk factors, and how to exercise and rest these internal muscles.
The gold standard here is an in person appointment with a women’s health physiotherapist but with 2600 women with prolapse for every specialist physiotherapist working in the UK,[5] it can be challenging to get to see one.
Sheela.ie is an online resource that empowers women to take care of their pelvic floor health.
We have a range of free resources including guides, exercise and meditation videos, and articles on managing symptoms, navigating professional health services, and making healthy choices into healthy habits.
Our on demand course, The Pelvic Floor Connection, will teach you how to find, isolate, and activate your pelvic floor muscles so you can learn the skill that helps up to 90% of women stop leaks and connect with their bodies.
At Sheela, we think that women deserve better.
Knowing how to avoid incontinence and all the risks that go with it?
We think that’s better.
Find out more here!
Sources
[1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9629641/#:~:text=Up%20to%2050%25%20of%20women,experience%20of%20women%20with%20POP.
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10278415/
[3] https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng210
[4]https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/kegel-exercise#:~:text=It%20has%20been%20shown%20that,correctly%20on%20their%20first%20attempt.
[5]https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-020-05748-8#:~:text=PFMT%20is%20usually%20delivered%20by,primary%20care%20practitioners%20who%20have
Main – Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash
