It seems that recently there’s been an increase in popularity around the ‘pelvic floor’, as if it’s something new. It’s not, we’re just starting to see more research conducted that includes pregnant & postpartum women that has allowed us to learn more about it.

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Prior to its recent hype, most have heard of it in the context of incontinence - aka leaking urine - and performing kegels. In this [article/email], we’re going to break down the functions of the pelvic floor & why kegels aren’t the gold standard anymore.

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What is the pelvic floor?

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We know that the pelvic floor is a bowl shaped group of muscles & connective tissue that sit inside the pelvis.

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What does the pelvic floor actually do?

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Let’s chat about some of its functions first.

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The pelvic floor works to constrict the urethra, vagina & anal canal - again, what we’re most familiar with. Holding our number 1, number 2, gas, etc.

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The pelvic floor supports our internal organs - it quite literally holds it all, which if not functioning optimally, is where you might hear of prolapse.

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The pelvic floor is a part of our deep stabilizing system - in addition to the diaphragm, multifidus & transverse abdominis. Some studies show that the pelvic floor is active in nearly all activities.

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The pelvic floor responds to breathing & changes in intra-abdominal pressure.

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The pelvic floor muscles are affected by pain & emotion - via the sympathetic nervous system.

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Why kegels aren’t the gold standard anymore

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Now let’s break down why kegels aren’t the gold standard of pelvic floor health.

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First of all, this is not to say kegels are bad or that we should never do them. They are simply one tool in our tool box for pelvic floor health. However, it may not be the right tool or for a certain person, may be causing more problems - especially for those leaking.

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So why shouldn’t we place an emphasis on performing kegels in resistance training?

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It’s been found that women who leak with exercise often have stronger & bigger pelvic floor muscles than those who don’t.

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When we’re lifting, we want the focus to be on points of performance and not solely the pelvic floor.

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The pelvic floor is an anticipatory & reflexive group of muscles, so we want it integrated into the whole system, not overridden & isolated.

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Focusing more on changing breathing strategies is typically more effective in reducing intra-abdominal pressure below the pressure that would cause you to leak.

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Often when we perform a pelvic floor contraction or kegel, it’s all or nothing and can cause us to over or under recruit compared to other areas of the core.

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The better approach

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So the better approach would be to learn to integrate the pelvic floor as a part of the core, not as an isolated muscle group and learn to withstand load in several movement patterns, including flexion, extension and rotation.

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Because when we brace correctly, the pelvic floor comes on board too.

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