What is the pelvic floor and why is it important?
What does constipation, erectile dysfunction, and peeing when you sneeze have in common? They’re all symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. Are Kegels enough to stop these problems? Or is there a better way to seek relief? Dr. Ken Brown recently hosted Dr. Taylor Reyes, DPT and pelvic floor specialist, on the Gut Check Project and she gave us a lot of insight into what is We will dive into the basics of the pelvic floor health and sprinkle some golden information that we learned from Dr. Taylor throughout this article. 
To see the full show visit: https://kbmdhealth.com/93-taylor-reyes-pelvic-floor-specialist/
Now, let’s get into it!
What is the pelvic floor?
Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sits in the lower part of your pelvis. It connects to the sacrum, tailbone, sit bones, and pubic bone. Your pelvic floor is responsible for protecting several organs and holding them up in their proper position:
- Bladder
- Rectum
- Uterus or prostate depending on your sex
Surprisingly your pelvic floor is one of the three muscle groups that make up our core. The other two are your deep spinal stabilizing muscles and your diaphragm. Yep, that’s right no abs! So when you want to strengthen your core, you definitely need to work on different exercises than crunches. And the pelvic floor and diaphragm are important muscle areas that we often skip.
Your pelvic floor muscles are responsible for many different functions. The main functions of your pelvic floor include:
- Holding those essential organs in place
- Sex
- Defecation
- Urination
- Childbirth
Although the pelvic floor muscles are used during these functions, if we are not properly taking care of this muscle group, these actions can actually damage the pelvic floor muscles. This can lead to problems like
- Peeing while you sneeze or cough
- Painful urination or sex
- Constipation
- Prolapse
- Long-term colon damage
- Infections
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Since your pelvic floor has so many muscles and functions, it can easily become imbalanced. This imbalance is referred to as pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic floor dysfunction can present in many different ways and does differ between genders.
Some of the things that can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction include:
- Childbirth (even pregnancy itself prior to childbirth can cause disruptions of the pelvic floor)
- Traumatic injury to the pelvic region
- Surgeries
- Nerve damage
- Obesity
- Autonomic nervous system responses
If not taken care of, pelvic floor dysfunction can lead to serious complications like prolapse, long-term colon damage, infections, and potentially needing surgery to fix it.
The Pelvic Floor and Nervous System
When we stress out we subconsciously tighten muscles, and we often don’t let these muscles relax because it was a subconscious response. Our pelvic floor is often a group of muscles that receive this response (much like our shoulder/neck area) but we don’t take notice of it until we are experiencing pain, constipation, or other problems.
The dura — a connective tissue substance that covers the nervous system — has connections from the brain and cranial structures that run all the way down to the pelvic floor. This connection is what causes pain, dysfunction, or imbalance in one area to affect and cause problems in another area.
These connections are why some people get pelvic floor relief from tongue tie procedures. Or why TMJ symptoms can be relieved by pelvic floor therapy and vice versa. Not every condition works in this way but sometimes when you have pain it can be stemming from a different part of your body being out of balance.
Sometimes, the dysfunction of the pelvic floor can stem from psychological, stressful, or other nervous system conditions.
How does the pelvic floor affect the digestive system?
We have talked about the brain-gut connection before. If we think about this in a similar way we can see a lot of connections between the pelvic floor and our digestive health.
The vagus nerve is the biggest connecting point for the digestive system and the pelvic floor. The vagus nerve is responsible for innervating many of the pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organs. In addition, the vagus nerve is responsible for heart rate, immune function, and digestion.
The vagus nerve is a big part of the nervous system aspect of disrupted digestion and pelvic floor issues.
Sometimes though it’s just the physical structures of the pelvic floor that affect our digestion. If the muscles in the pelvic floor are overly tight, overactive, or weak they can lead to seemingly digestive problems. If the pelvic floor is to blame then it might not really be a problem of digesting your food but more of how your body is moving the waste out.
Some of the problems that may be a pelvic floor issue if your doctor hasn’t come across and digestive system problems can be:
- Fecal incontinence
- Urinary incontinence
- Constipation
- Feelings of not completely emptying
Should I use a squatty potty?
A squatty potty is a great place to start if you’re experiencing difficulty passing your bowels. It is approved by both Dr. Ken Brown, gastroenterologist, and Dr. Taylor Reyes, pelvic floor specialist. So not only will a squatty potty help move your bowels easier, it also prevents any unnecessary pressure on your pelvic floor muscles.
What should I do if I think I have pelvic floor dysfunction?
If you think you may have pelvic floor dysfunction, go see a pelvic floor specialist. This article is purely informational and is not to be used to diagnose, treat, or advise medically. The only way to find out if you have pelvic floor dysfunction is to be diagnosed by a medical professional.
Your doctor will go through a series of tests using different technologies to assess your pelvic floor muscles. Once they make a diagnosis the treatment options can range from medications to physical therapy.
If you’re in the Farmer’s Branch, Texas area you can visit Dr. Taylor Reyes at FIRE Physical Therapy. If you’re not in the area, still check out the Gut Check Project where she taught us even more about pelvic floor dysfunction.
Episode 1 covers the information in this article and more about pelvic floor health
Episode 2 focuses on sexual health and the pelvic floor.
They’re both worth listening to learn more about improving your health and happiness!