When is the last time you said hello to the muscles of your pelvic floor? If you had to stop and think, it’s been too long. If you’re not even sure what your pelvic floor is, now is the time to get acquainted. The pelvic floor, also sometimes known as the pelvic diaphragm, is a muscle of the core spanning the entire area underneath your pelvis. Getting in touch with this muscle will provide you with core stability as well as improved health of the organs in your abdominal cavity. Needless to say, this muscle is too important to ignore!
Anatomy: The pelvic floor is actually a group of muscles. Its main components are the levator ani and coccygeus, and their connective tissue. The levator ani, however, is composed of three parts, the pubococcygeus (aka PC muscle, considered the primary muscle of the pelvic floor), puborectalis, and iliococcygeus.
The levator ani basically goes from the back of your pubic bone and lower portion of your pelvis (ischial spine) to the low part of the sacrum and tailbone. The coccygeus is behind the levator ani and does not connect to the pubic bone.
The majority of the fibers of the pelvic floor muscles run diagonally from the surfaces of the pelvis towards the midline of the body, however some do run from the front of the pelvis to the back.
Actions: The primary action of the pelvic floor is supporting the weight of the pelvic organs and enabling and controlling elimination from the bowels and bladder.
This group of muscles plays an integral role in stabilizing the pelvis. A strong yet pliable pelvic floor keeps the sacrum from rotating too far forward or backward, therefore keeping the pelvis in ideal alignment.
These muscles aid in childbirth and are incredibly important to a mother’s prenatal health and fitness. Stay tuned for an article on prenatal Pilates coming soon!
The pelvic floor muscles also play a role in respiration by assisting as you exhale.
What the pelvic floor muscles can do for you: A healthy pelvic floor, with balanced strength, endurance, and elasticity, will allow you to effortlessly support a neutral position of the pelvis and improve posture and core stability.
Just like your transversus abdominis, using your pelvic floor to stabilize your core will allow you to move your limbs more freely and efficiently without injury.
A strong and flexible pelvic floor will improve the health of your bladder and bowels, making it easier to enable and control elimination.
Keeping your pelvic floor strong and supple may also help to correct or prevent a prolapsed or tilted uterus.
A healthy pelvic floor can even affect your sex life (in a good way!)
The pelvic floor and your Pilates workout
Exercises and Imagery:
Fast contractions- Start your pelvic floor strengthening by contracting the muscles as though you are stopping a flow of urine and then release. Do this 10 times as quickly as possible, rest, and repeat 3 times.
Slow contractions-Perform the same contraction and release as above but now do it as slowly as possible. To get the feeling of pulling in AND up imagine you are using your pelvic floor muscles to pull a silk handkerchief up through the midline of your body. Be sure to work the muscles eccentrically (in their elongated position) by slowly lowering the handkerchief until your pelvic floor is fully released.
Pelvic tilts-Perform the Pilates fundamental pelvic clock on all fours tilting your pelvis from 12 o’clock (at your belly button) to 6 o’clock (at your pubic bone). Feel your pelvic floor pull in and up as you tilt to 12 o’clock and feel it relax and expand as you tilt the pelvis to 6 o’clock. It is important to feel your pelvic floor contract AND fully release.
Squat stretch-With your legs wider than your hips, stand with your back against a wall and slowly lower yourself down until you are in a wide squat supported by the wall. Feeling your pelvic floor relax and widen, hold this position for at least 60 seconds.
Feeling your pelvic floor muscles pull in and up as you exhale and release and expand when you inhale will do wonders for your core stability and improve the integrity of your Pilates practice!
You are on now well on your way to having a strong and supported core. Stay tuned as we continue to get to know the key players in core stability and look out for an upcoming article on prenatal Pilates to learn more about the amazing power of the pelvic floor muscles.
