Pelvic Floor Myths
Some pelvic floor myths just won’t die. Below are pelvic floor myths which need to go straight in the sin bin!
You should never stop the flow of urine.
I’ve heard this that many times but with lots of different explanations. Like it will lead to UTI’s, the urine will go back up into the kidneys and that our bladder will learn not to contract properly.
All are not true.
We know that one of the most important muscles for holding onto our wee is called the external urethral sphincter.
This muscle actually can’t be assessed with an internal pelvic floor assessment.
The best way to test this muscle out is to see if you can stop the flow of urine.
We wouldn’t recommend doing it every wee and when you only have a small amount in your bladder. Just to say that occasionally stopping the flow of urine isn’t the devil.
You should never drink coffee if you have urinary urgency/overactive bladder
This one may be half true. We think caffeine sensitivity is almost like gluten sensitivitiy. Some people are sensitive, some people aren’t. If you take coffee away and it makes a huge difference to symptoms you are likely to be someone who is sensitive. If you take it away and it makes no difference, crack on.
We know the most irritating substances tends to be those with artificial flavours and carbonated fluids. I would be taking these away first.
Medication is the only way to solve urinary urgency.
We can get realllly good benefits with pelvic health physiotherapy. Medications often come with unwanted side effects such as dry eyes, mouth and can make our brain feel foggy.
Electrotherapy has been shown to be just as effective as medication when it comes to the treating overactive bladder.
We can teach you how to use either tibial nerve stimulation with a small machine called a TENS machine. This is placed at the ankle and can be done for 20-30 minutes every other day.
We know that doing intra-vaginal electrical stimulation can be even more effective. Although it is a bit more of a faff to set up.
But if you have tried medication and not found it to be helpful know there is so much more we can offer!
Kegels or pelvic floor muscle training is the be all and end all.
Pelvic floor exercises absolutely have their place. However, there is so much more that we can offer you as pelvic floor physios. Education is key to understanding your condition, however, we also can provide manual therapy, stretches, breathing techniques, mobility exercises and general strengthening to help improve your condition.
You need to do your pelvic floor exercises three times a day.
This may be a controversial one.
However, you need to train your pelvic floor for what it needs.
If you have no idea how to do pelvic floor exercises, practicing three times a day just to get the hang of it is a great idea. We call this improving your motor control.
However, if you know what you are doing and you need to improve strength, practicing it in one go and working to fatigue is a far better option.
Your pelvic floor is just like any other muscle group. You are going to work it hard once to make changes. Doing it here there and everywhere is probably not going to help.
We know the most important in getting benefits from pelvic floor exercises is actually having it SUPERVISED by a physio because it keeps us consistent.
Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or two either. It’s probably not a bad idea giving your muscles a day off to recover.
I’ve had people benefit from doing their pelvic floor 2-3 times per week but working it hard when they worked it.
