Woman's Pelvic Health Check

All women (and men!) have a pelvic floor and it is reasonable for symptoms to develop at any stage of life - not just for those women who have been pregnant or birthed a baby! If you are an athlete (keen exerciser!), experience stress or anxiety, have a chronic history of constipation, are perimenopausal or are overweight, these are variables that can impact your pelvic health and lead to symptoms such as:

• back and pelvic pain

• bladder and bowel dysfunction (urinary/ faecal frequency, urgency, leakage, constipation, haemorrhoids, anal fissure)

• pelvic organ prolapse (heaviness or bulging of bladder, bowel or uterus),

• dryness, pain or lack of sensation with sexual intercourse,

• diastasis recti abdominus (abdominal muscle separation / doming tummy)

• joint pain

If you are currently experiencing some of these symptoms (even a bit!), now is a good time to take ownership of your pelvic health so as to prevent symptoms worsening.

Additionally, if you are currently asymptomatic and if pelvic floor training was not featured in your early adulthood, it is advised to become informed and begin an individualised training programme to prevent or minimise risk of symptoms arising.

A pelvic health check up is guided by you - the aim of the opening discussion is to outline what you are currently experiencing (or not!) and what it is you aim to gain by working together. Perhaps you don’t have symptoms but are keen to become pregnant? Or perhaps you are approaching menopause and you want to equip yourself with knowledge on how to best help yourself during this pivotal life transition? You don’t need a big reason! But just be assured it is always a good idea to know where your pelvic floor is and how to look after it!