PELVIC FLOOR SCIENCE
The lack of oestrogen during perimenopause can thin the lining of your bladder and urethra leading to bladder problems such as:
o Stress incontinence – weeing when coughing, sneezing, lifting
o Urge incontinence – suddenly needing to go to the loo
o Nocturia – excessively needing to go to the loo at night
It becomes even more important to practice regular pelvic floor exercises as we get older in order to strengthen our pelvic floor muscles and avoid a prolapse.
PELVIC FLOOR HACK
Make sure your bladder is empty, then sit or lie down
Tighten your pelvic floor muscles. Hold tight and count 3 to 5 seconds
Relax the muscles and count 3 to 5 seconds
Repeat 10 times, 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, and night)
Correct breathing for pelvic floor exercises
Holding your breath can create extra pressure around the abdominal muscles. So, when you're doing your pelvic floor exercises think about breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Still not sure if you're breathing enough? In a seated position, place your fist between your knees and squeeze your fist as tight as you can while breathing out. You should feel a little bit of pressure in your lower abs - these are your pelvic floor muscles engaging. Now you should have fully exhaled and relaxed the muscles around your core.
Where you do them matters
Pelvic floor exercises can be tricky things to master. As with everything, gravity takes its toll, so they can be harder to do while standing up.
If you're struggling, bring yourself in a seated position, straighten through your spine and lift your chest. Imagine you're sitting in front of the Queen, as my old horse-riding trainer used to tell me. This allows you to create more room around your diaphragm to breath in deep and get a stronger connection to your pelvic floor muscles! Forgetting to do them? Pop some post it notes around the house on items you use every day!
Today’s tip was kindly brought to you by @Jade Blinkhorn, menopause health coach who specialises in pelvic floor work, weight gain and brain fog support
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