Here’s a friendly reminder from your WOGS doctors to exercise your pelvic floor muscles every day!

Your pelvic floor muscles support your pelvic organs (uterus, bladder and bowel). They also help control bladder, bowel and sexual function. Pregnancy, giving birth, constipation and ageing can weaken these muscles, leading to incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

All women need strong pelvic floor muscles and daily exercises will help you achieve this.

Here’s a simple exercise you can do right now. ⠀⠀⠀⠀
1. Squeeze and draw in the muscles around your anus and your vagina. You should feel a sense of lifting each time you squeeze your pelvic floor muscles. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2. Hold these muscles for up to 10 seconds. Keep you bottom muscles relaxed and breathe normally. Don’t hold your breath!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3. As you relax you should have a distinct feeling of letting go.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Repeat this squeeze and lift up to 10 times. You can do this set of exercises 3 times a day.

Sarah, from Health 4 Women Physio, says if you can’t feel the muscles relax at the end of your squeeze, reduce your hold time. If you can easily hold 10 x 10second holds, you’re not doing enough, try an 11 or 12 second hold instead.

A women’s health physiotherapist can help you if you are unsure if you are exercising your pelvic floor exercises correctly. Health 4 Women Physiotherapists provide inpatient care for all our Frances Perry House patients. You can contact them on 03 9329 0999.

You can read more about your pelvic floor muscles here: The pelvic floor | The Royal Women’s Hospital (thewomens.org.au)