Chiropractic Care to Improve your Pelvic Floor
By Sara Butler
The pelvic floor may be something you’ve heard of from your chiropractor or read about in a magazine, but perhaps not something you truly understand. What is it and how does it impact your health and wellness? Here’s what you need to know about your pelvic floor and how getting control over it with the help of chiropractic care can help you to be healthier.
What is It?
The pelvic floor is basically a large sheet of muscle that stretches from your tailbone in the back to your pubic bone in the front. The muscles that make up the pelvic floor help to keep the organs in the area, such as your bladder and bowel, in place. You can think about these muscles like a sling or hammock for the organs in the pelvis, offering them support.
Problems with the Pelvic Floor
Issues with the muscles that comprise the pelvic floor are pretty common. That’s because over the course of life they can become too tight, stretched out, or are too weak to do their job appropriately. One of the biggest culprits behind weakened or stretched pelvic floor muscles is pregnancy -- an event that definitely puts the area through its paces.
Pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition many women suffer from but are often embarrassed to seek help for. You don’t have to suffer from the side effects of pelvic floor dysfunction because chiropractic care can help.
How the Chiropractor Helps
Through a thorough history and chiropractic examination, the chiropractors at The Joint can diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction and create a treatment plan specifically based on your goals and functional abilities. They’ll regularly review your progress and modify treatment as needed to help you reach your treatment aims. They may also:
- Perform hands-on adjustments of the pubic symphysis and sacroiliac joints
- Use ligament release techniques
- Work on soft tissues surrounding the pelvic floor
- Educate you on exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles
- Work with you to strengthen your abdominal core muscles
- Educate you on proper posture to keep pressure off the pelvic floor
There is promising evidence that shows the strengthening of the pelvic floor muscles along with lifestyle changes can help to reduce and even resolve pelvic floor dysfunction.
If you're worried about pelvic floor dysfunction, discuss it with your chiropractor at The Joint.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in St. Louis, Mo.