Activate the Pelvic Floor

Important Note:

These exercises were designed as a place to start to address your symptoms. These exercises should not be performed or continued if they cause or increase your pain in any way. Using these exercises for self-management of your symptoms does not replace the value of being assessed by a Health Professional.

Pelvic floor breathing exercise 1 - part 1

Pelvic floor breathing exercise 1 - part 2

1. Full Core Breath

Sets: 1 Reps: 10 breaths Freq: 2x/day Lie on your back with your knees bent and your back in neutral position.
Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Concentrate on your breathing.
Inhale and think about relaxing your pelvic floor muscles – imagine a flower blooming from your vagina. Remember to perform a diaphragmatic breath
As you exhale, engage your pelvic floor muscles like you are using your vagina to squeeze and lift a blueberry. Or, like you are trying to hold in a fart with your anus. You should not feel any work happening at your inner thighs, buttocks or stomach muscles. Repeat.

Pelvic floor bridge exercise 1 - part 1

Pelvic floor bridge exercise 1 - part 2

2. Blow Before You Go

Sets: 1 Reps: 10 Freq: 2x/day Lie on your back with your knees bent. Breathe in to prepare
As you breathe out, squeeze and lift your pelvic floor (think about the blueberry, or fart) and lift your buttocks
As you lower your buttocks back down to the ground inhale and relax your pelvic floor Breathe out, reconnect to your pelvic floor and lift hips back up
Repeat
You can use this strategy with other daily activities, such as lifting, or exercising. Think ‘blow before you go’ or ‘exhale with effort’ (exhale and engage your pelvic floor as you start the hard part of the movement).

Images provided by Physiotec