{"id":1749,"date":"2021-09-16T00:23:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T07:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2025-06-24T12:54:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:54:18","slug":"pelvic-floor-101-if-you-want-to-avoid-back-pain-and-have-great-sex-you-need-to-start-thinking-about-your-pelvic-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/pelvic-floor-101-if-you-want-to-avoid-back-pain-and-have-great-sex-you-need-to-start-thinking-about-your-pelvic-floor\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelvic floor 101: If you want to avoid back pain and have great sex, you need to start thinking about your pelvic floor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When\u2019s the last time you thought about your pelvic floor? If the answer is never, you might want to start considering it: Recent studies<\/a> show that 1 in 3 adult women in the U.S. have pelvic floor issues and 95%<\/a> of back pain in women is associated with pelvic pain. While those stats are surprising, the good news is that there’s help, thanks to physical therapy clinics on a mission to diagnose, treat and boost women\u2019s pelvic floor health.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the pelvic floor? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pelvic floor is a string of muscles that literally make up the floor of the pelvis. Its functions are vast; it helps with continence [prevents you from peeing and pooping when you don\u2019t want to], holding up your organs and stabilizing your pelvis and low back,\u201d says Dr. Caitlin Abusambra, PT, DPT, who works at Origin<\/a>, a physical therapy studio that focuses on women\u2019s health in Los Angeles.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s not its only job: The pelvic floor is partly responsible for great sex, too. \u201cIt facilitates blood and lymph flow in the area, helping you orgasm and feel pleasure,\u201d she adds.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pelvic floor dysfunction\u00a0at a glance\u00a0\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Without a properly functioning pelvic floor, many issues could arise\u2014especially when the body is going through intense changes, like during and after pregnancy as well as menopause.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPelvic floor dysfunction can be caused by whole host of things, from chronic constipation, hip or lower back pain, falling on your tailbone, chronic UTIs and endometriosis, to anxiety\/stress, hormonal changes, cancer treatments, pregnancy and childbirth,\u201d says Kristin Sapienza, PT, DPT, and founder of FemFirstHealth,<\/a> a New York physical therapy clinic focused on women\u2019s pelvic health. \u201cIt\u2019s important to address the problem as soon as possible, because pelvic floor dysfunction can lead to painful intercourse, pelvic pain, incontinence and instability with activity,\u201d she continues.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter:\u00a0Pelvic floor\u00a0physical therapists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPelvic floor physical therapists act as detectives to assess all of the specific areas that may be tight and creating pain, or too loose and contributing to incontinence or\u202fprolapse,<\/a>\u201d Sapeinza says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world where women\u2019s health issues are sometimes dismissed<\/a>, pelvic floor physical therapists offer much-needed support. \u201cPainful sex, postpartum incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse are common problems, but I\u2019ve had patients whose doctors told them it\u2019s normal, or there\u2019s nothing that can be done about it,\u201d Abusambra says. \u201cPhysical therapy is an evidence-based way to treat these issues, especially with incontinence. There\u2019s proof<\/a> that PT can help treat it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should you expect at a pelvic floor PT appointment? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nope, it\u2019s not all kegels. <\/a>Over at Origin, Abusambra notes, \u201cWe take in a detailed medical history, including surgeries, orthopedic issues, injuries, sexual history and symptoms. Then we figure out what your goals are and if PT is going to help you reach them.\u201d Following the assessment, there\u2019s an hour-long session with a physical therapist to evaluate your posture, breathing and areas of muscle weakness all over the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those with specific symptoms, an inner-vaginal assessment is also performed to figure out which muscles are weak, tender, tight and dysfunctional.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road to healing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As for healing the pelvic floor, both clinics recommend tailored physical therapy and at-home exercises. \u201cOur goal is for women to coordinate their pelvic floor better when they\u2019re breathing, squatting and walking. Try doing a basic pelvic floor contraction with your breath and focus on getting a good squeeze on your exhale and fully release and open the vagina when you inhale,\u201d says Abusambra, who recommends doing 1-3 sets of 10 during the day, starting with lying down then working your way up to sitting then standing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adds Dr. Amy Hoover, PT, DPT, and member of the clinical advisory board at fitness studio P.volve<\/a>, \u201cWhile it can take up to 6-8 weeks to build muscle, you may feel changes within a week or two of starting pelvic floor strengthening. The most important goal early on is to be able to understand and feel what you are doing so that you can do it correctly. Building a strong mind-body connection with your pelvic floor helps a lot, too.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Murad, and are for informational purposes only, even if the advice of physicians and medical practitioners are included. This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and should not looked be considered specific medical advice. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When\u2019s the last time you thought about your pelvic floor? If the answer is never, you might want to start considering it: Recent studies show that 1 in 3 adult women in the U.S. have pelvic floor issues and 95% of back pain in women is associated with pelvic pain. While those stats are surprising, the good news is that there’s help, thanks to physical therapy clinics on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-body"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1750794860:21"],"_edit_last":["21"],"adobe_analytics_repeatable":["a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:4:\"name\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"value\";s:0:\"\";}}"],"show_featured_image":["1"],"_show_featured_image":["field_609ee1cf1ce13"],"primary_category":["4"],"_primary_category":["field_608c33bdd26d5"],"mobile_image":[""],"_mobile_image":["field_60bf7692abe28"],"_post_views_count":["field_6107dfafd6a27"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["4"],"post_views_count":["9322"],"_thumbnail_id":["1766"],"_wp_old_date":["2021-08-24"],"sidebar_products_use_global_default":["0"],"_sidebar_products_use_global_default":["field_63a349a11086a"],"sidebar_products_title":["Related Products"],"_sidebar_products_title":["field_6408d62123449"],"sidebar_products_items":[""],"_sidebar_products_items":["field_63a349a110878"],"sidebar_products":[""],"_sidebar_products":["field_63a349a0dadad"],"_yoast_wpseo_title":["Pelvic floor 101 guide | Murad Skincare"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Strengthen your pelvic floor for better health and sex. Expert guide to preventing back pain and improving wellness."]},"aioseo_notices":[],"acf":{"show_featured_image":true,"primary_category":{"term_id":4,"name":"Body","slug":"body","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":63,"filter":"raw"},"mobile_image":false,"post_views_count":"9322","sidebar_products":{"use_global_default":false,"title":"Related Products","items":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1749"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13511,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions\/13511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnected.murad.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}