What our pelvic floor does

The pelvic floor closes the pelvis downwards, supporting the internal organs and enabling an upright posture. It consists of muscles, tendons and connective tissue and is made up of three layers like a crossed grid. This net-like structure makes the pelvic floor particularly stable. Overall, the pelvic floor has three main functions: tensing, relaxing and reflexively counteracting.

Tensing the pelvic floor ensures continence, as the pelvic floor muscles support the lower part of the urethra and the sphincter muscles of the bladder and anus. The pelvic floor muscle relaxes during urination, defecation and sexual intercourse, while it has to reflexively hold back when coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping etc. in order to keep the sphincter muscles completely closed.

Why pelvic floor training is so important

Problems with the pelvic floor usually occur in women, and less frequently in men. The tautness of the pelvic floor decreases, mainly due to the birth of a child and the associated stretching of the connective tissue, but also as a result of age. There are also other causes, such as a predisposition to weak connective tissue, obesity, chronic coughing or hormonal changes during a woman's menopause, which lead to weakened pelvic floor muscles. The consequences of weakened pelvic floor muscles can include

- back pain
- prolapse of internal organs
- restrictions in sexuality
- incontinence

The phases of pelvic floor training

In most cases, the consequences of weak pelvic floor muscles can be remedied through targeted pelvic floor training. A correct breathing technique is particularly important for successful training. The pelvic floor and the diaphragm are connected via the fascia as well as the respiratory movement and have an antagonistic effect during breathing, i.e. they alternately contract and relax. Being able to perceive and tense your pelvic floor as an isolated musculature is also an important preliminary exercise. It is therefore a good idea to start with a few breathing exercises, then enrich these with exercises to develop awareness of the pelvic floor and only in a third step do you do specific exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor.

To practise correct breathing, you should retreat to a quiet place and assume a comfortable lying position on your back. To find out how to breathe correctly, it is a good idea to place your hands on your stomach and then breathe in and out evenly. Make sure that the abdominal wall rises when you inhale and lowers again when you exhale. To intensify the breathing exercise, you can make the "F" sound as you exhale; you may already feel your pelvic floor tighten inwards towards your belly button.

To become consciously aware of your pelvic floor muscles, you can feel them by lying relaxed on your back and then feeling the tension in the perineum. The pelvic floor is particularly tense when you try to pull the perineum into your body. You can also squeeze the urethral sphincter as if you were trying to interrupt the flow of urine when urinating. This process automatically tenses other muscles, namely those of the pelvic floor. However, this exercise is not yet an exercise to strengthen the pelvic floor, but merely serves to raise awareness of your pelvic floor muscles.

Exercises for pelvic floor training

When it comes to actual pelvic floor training, a distinction can be made between simple everyday exercises and targeted training. Everyday exercises include, for example, consciously tensing the pelvic floor muscles when sneezing or coughing, and you should also refrain from lifting heavy objects. If you do have to lift something heavy, make sure you keep your back straight and tense your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. You should also drink enough and not go to the toilet too early, because if the bladder is never properly filled, the pelvic floor will lose its exercise and become even weaker.

When doing deliberate pelvic floor exercises, you should make sure that you start them on your back with your legs raised, as this relieves the pelvic floor and makes the exercises easier at first. If you are a little more experienced, you can also do the exercises in a flat lying position and later in a four-footed position, sitting or standing. Concentrate fully on your breathing and always tense your pelvic floor when you exhale, keeping your back against the floor. Release this tension each time you breathe in. You should repeat this exercise ten times and then take a break.

In another exercise, you can simultaneously tense the pelvic floor muscles and the abdominal muscles and exhale very slowly during the tensing phase. Lifting the pelvic floor is also a good way to train it by placing your legs on the floor and lifting your buttocks up towards the ceiling, thereby tensing the pelvic floor.