Understanding Hypertonic Pelvic Floor: A Key to Preventing Birth Trauma
The Pelvic Floor is a crucial group of muscles that play a significant role in our everyday lives! If you’ve been following She Moves for a while you’ll know we talk about it a lot and for good reason! The Pelvic Floor helps to control bladder and bowel function, supports the pelvic organs, and is even involved in sexual function. It’s pretty darn important!
Just like any other muscle group, the Pelvic Floor can face the odd issue here and there! The majority of the time when people think of Pelvic Floor issues they think of it as being weak BUT another very common issue is a Pelvic Floor that is too tight and unable to release/relax - otherwise known as being ‘Hypertonic’.
In this blog post, we'll explore what a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor is, what might cause it, its symptoms and why it’s super important for mums to know how to release tension in their Pelvic Floor before giving birth; if they plan to have a vaginal birth. This is especially important for first-time mums!!
Both of us (Ren & Jen) didn’t know about what a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor was before giving birth to our first children. Jen had a really long pushing phase that resulted in the start of her journey with Prolpase - she puts this down to the fact that her Pelvic Floor was too tight before birth. Similarly, Ren has a really difficult time with an extremely long birth that took her a lot of time to process, she too believes that an unknown Hypertonic Pelvic Floor had a lot to do with the outcome. Read on to find out more!
What issues can a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor cause?
Recognising the signs of a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor is crucial for seeking appropriate treatment.
Common symptoms include:
Pelvic pain or discomfort
Urinary urgency and frequency
Incontinence
Pain during sexual intercourse
Constipation or difficulty with bowel movements
Lower back pain
Muscle spasms in the pelvic area
Unable to feel the relaxation phase of a Pelvic Floor Activation
Difficult birth
What can make a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor tricky to diagnose is that similar symptoms present themselves for a weak Pelvic Floor! Often we work with many women who assume they have a weak Pelvic Floor due to the symptoms they are experiencing but then after further investigation, they later find out that their Pelvic Floor is in fact quite the opposite!
How do I know for sure if I have a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor?
The only way to really have a deep understanding of whether you have a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor or not is to see a Woman’s Health and Pelvic Floor Physio. After a session with a Physio, you’ll know if your symptoms are due to your Pelvic Floor being too tight or weak and you’ll be able to put a plan in place with the correct exercise to minimise or reverse the symptoms you might be experiencing.
If you are pregnant the best time to see a Pelvic Floor physio is after 20 weeks. Even if you do not have any symptoms listed above in our opinion it’s still a really great idea to see a Physio for that assessment. MANY women do not have symptoms of a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor but then have a difficult birth experience simply because they didn’t know their Pelvic Floor was too tight! More on this now…..
How does a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor impact child-birth?
Having a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor can pose challenges during childbirth. The Pelvic Floor muscles are a crucial part of the birthing process, as they need to be able to relax and expand to allow the baby's passage through the birth canal.
When these muscles are overly tense or tight due to hypertonicity, they may struggle to relax adequately. This tension can hinder the natural progression of birth and make it difficult for the Pelvic Floor to "get out of the way" when it's time for the baby to be born.
As a result, women with Hypertonic Pelvic Floors may experience more prolonged and painful birth, potentially increasing the risk of complications during childbirth. Therefore, understanding and addressing Hypertonicity before giving birth is essential for ensuring a smoother and potentially less traumatic birthing experience.
Please know that we do not share this information to scare or put women off childbirth! We share it because we wish we knew it! We share it because there are SIMPLE things mums can do to help prepare their Pelvic Floor! Knowledge is POWER!
What can I do to prepare my Pelvic Floor for birth?
See a Women’s Health physio for an assessment from 20 weeks pregnant
Join the She Moves membership and start doing some pregnancy-safe workouts! In our workouts we always have an emphasis on the Pelvic Floor you’ll learn how to relax and contract your Pelvic Floor, both essential during pregnancy
Do Pelvic Floor relaxation stretches every day from 30 weeks. See some stretch examples below, check out our Instagram for some short videos or join the membership
Extended child pose:
Start by kneeling on the floor with your big toes touching and knees spread apart about hip-width
Sit back on your heels and exhale as you hinge at your hips, lowering your torso forward and down between your thighs
Extend your arms forward on the floor, keeping them shoulder-width apart, and let your forehead rest
Relax your Pelvic Floor muscles completely
Take slow, deep breaths in this position, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. As you exhale, imagine any tension in your Pelvic floor melting away
Hold the pose for as long as it feels comfortable, aiming for at least 30 seconds to a minute
Cat Cow:
Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position, with your wrists aligned under your shoulders and your knees under your hips
Inhale as you slightly arch your back and tilt your pelvis up towards the ceiling. Lift your head and tailbone, creating an arch in your spine. This is the "Cow" position. If you are pregnant be sure not to overdo this - you don’t want a big backbend just a slight one
Exhale as you round your back, tucking your chin to your chest and tucking your pelvis under. This is the "Cat" position
From the Cat position, inhale and return to a neutral tabletop position (flat back)
As you exhale, move into the Cow position once more, arching your back, tilting your pelvis up, and lifting your head and tailbone
Continue to flow between Cat and Cow, extending each movement with your breath for several rounds
While doing this, focus on consciously relaxing your Pelvic Floor muscles with each breath. Imagine any tension in the Pelvic area melting away as you perform the movements
Butterfly stretch:
Sit on the floor with your legs extended straight in front of you. Bend your knees outward, bringing the soles of your feet together in front of you. Your legs should form a diamond shape.
Hold your feet with your hands, interlacing your fingers around your toes
Sit up tall, lengthening your spine, and engage your core muscles slightly
Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, gently press your knees down toward the floor
Keep your back straight and your pelvis grounded on the floor. Do not round your lower back
As you hold the stretch, focus on consciously relaxing your pelvic floor muscles. Imagine any tension in the pelvic area melting away as you perform the stretch
Hold the stretch for 30 seconds to a minute while taking slow, deep breaths
Will doing these stretches mean I’ll have a smoother birth?
While we can’t guarantee that these actions will mean you’ll have your ‘dream birth’ - if only! What we can tell you is that you’ll have done everything you can to put yourself in the best position possible for success.
Sometimes things during birth are totally outside of our control, sometimes we can do all the things to set ourselves up and it still doesn’t go the way we wished BUT knowing we’ve done everything we can is super helpful!
We hope this helps, remember knowledge is POWER!
Ren & Jen x
