The pelvic floor muscles are one of the most underrated. After all, they are inside, not visible to the eye and for the time being do not bother. At the same time, their weakening is fraught with extremely serious health problems. According to statistics, a fifth of the people on earth suffer from problems due to a decrease in their tone. What exactly and how can muscles be trained to avoid various pathologies, aif.ru told urologist, oncourologist, rehabilitation doctor, chief physician of the clinic for preventive medicine and nutrition Kristina Goryacheva.
Where to find them?
The pelvic floor muscles are those muscles that are located in the perineum. They are stretched between the pubic bone and the coccyx. In fact, they are a kind of hammock where the pelvic organs are located: the bladder, rectum, prostate gland in men, uterus in women.
These muscles are needed by the body to support and support the internal organs. They also participate in the work of sphincters – the urethra and rectum, are involved in the mechanism of erection and are necessary in childbirth.
When does their tone decrease?
Among the reasons why the muscles of the pelvic floor can be weakened are the following:
- problems with connective tissue;
- pregnancy and childbirth;
- operations in the perineal region, for example, epidural anesthesia during childbirth;
- being overweight is extra weight that puts pressure on muscles and weakens them;
- hypodynamia – due to lack of movement, tissue nutrition is disrupted;
- hormonal changes;
- regular increase in intra-abdominal pressure, for example, with chronic constipation, coughing, carrying weights, and others;
- circulatory disorders in the pelvic area.
What is fraught with?
The weakening of the pelvic floor muscles negatively affects various areas of human life. In women, sexual life worsens, and the risk of infections also increases.
In addition, weakening of the muscles in this area leads to urinary incontinence, which can occur when coughing, laughing, and exercising. Chronic pelvic pain may also develop.
Weak muscles can be the cause of difficult situations, when the organs begin to literally fall out. And even without their help, it becomes more difficult to contain gases in the intestines.
How to strengthen muscles?
In everyday life, these muscles usually do not tense up. In principle, they are usually remembered when health failures begin.
In the initial stages, simple exercises can be used both as treatment and as prevention. The most popular are Kegel exercises. However, here it is worth understanding that this complex must be performed correctly – and not everyone knows how to do this. In addition, it also has certain contraindications – you should not practice it for those who have an increased tone of the pelvic floor muscles, distortions in the small pelvis, flat feet, piriformis syndrome.
There are various modern applications and options for training with biofeedback, when you can literally “see” the strength and intensity of exercises and perform tasks, improving the quality of training.
To choose the best exercise option, you should consult a doctor – he will help you choose the most effective option, as it will be based on the results of the examination and the clinical picture.
Do not ignore training. If practiced correctly and regularly, many problems can be prevented. So, for example, this will ensure the prevention of prolapse of organs, urinary incontinence, congestion in the pelvis, cystitis and prostatitis, protect against hemorrhoids and much more.
When to expect the effect?
It all depends on what the situation was originally. That is, the condition of the muscles, the presence of injuries and surgeries in the pelvic area, physical activity and lifestyle are taken into account.
Someone can evaluate the effect of exercise in a couple of weeks, someone will need a few months.
Source: aif.ru
