pelvic floor - Women's Fitness, Pregnancy, Post-Partum, and Pelvic Floor Health

A Must Read…Key Reasons We Can’t Ignore the Pelvic Floor

January 30, 2013 by Whitney Hetzel Leave a Comment

Pelvic floor health is crucial. As a mother of nine and an exercise enthusiast, I realize that probably one of the most important things that I can do is to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles. For women especially, the pelvic floor should always be thought of as key to the core muscles. While it is far too under-emphasized, it has gained attention since our mothers were giving birth. For that we should be grateful!

I remember being told by my ob/gyn, Dr. Tommy Megremis, after the birth of my sixth child, that I should seek out the help of a physical therapist who specialized in pelvic floor therapy because I was having symptoms of a weak pelvic floor. I actually had no idea what he was talking about! I had figured that I would simply have to bide my time before a surgical procedure would become a necessary and “normal” part of the aging process. I am grateful to Dr. Megremis for sending me in a better direction, and after working for about 4-5 months with the physical therapist, I really noticed a change. I was so encouraged. [Read more…]

Filed Under: My Favorite 9 Kid Fitness Posts, Pelvic Floor Tagged With: Kegels, pelvic floor, Pelvic floor exercises

Exercises to Prevent Pelvic Organ Prolapse

November 21, 2012 by Whitney Hetzel 3 Comments

We can’t ignore the pelvic floor!

As I approach the second half of my forties, I realize that in order to stay fit and to continue to do the exercises, workouts, and other physical activities I like to do, I need to be proactive about strengthening my pelvic floor muscles. I have talked about this before at 9 Kid Fitness, and I will continue to look for up-to-date information about the pelvic floor because I know just how crucial it is for women to be well informed. The following is an interesting article from 9 Kid Fitness follower, Elizabeth Carrollton, who talks about some of the preventative measures women can take before having to do more invasive procedures such as surgery, etc. Elizabeth also writes about defective medical devices and dangerous drugs for Drugwatch.com.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) often can be prevented with proper exercises. In fact, many of the exercises d to prevent the condition can also be used to treat mild to moderate cases of POP. Surgical intervention has become a common treatment for moderate to severe symptoms of POP. This is unfortunate because surgery is an invasive procedure that has inherent risks. In fact, one of the most common types of surgery used to treat pelvic organ prolapse uses a high-risk medical device called transvaginal mesh, which has been linked to severe health complications in as many as 10 percent of surgeries. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Women's Health Tagged With: pelvic floor, Pelvic floor exercises, women's fitness, women's health

Do Not Ignore the Pelvic Floor (and Here’s a Website to Help)…

July 30, 2012 by Whitney Hetzel 1 Comment

The pelvic floor is crucial to our core.

I recently came across a great resource I would like to share with my 9 Kid Fitness readers (at least the women in the group)! As you might know from reading my blog I am always seeking ways to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and I believe those muscles are a crucial part of our core. As I get older and continue to exercise, pelvic health has become even more important to my overall health and especially to my ability to stay functionally fit! What do I mean by functionally fit? My fitness is so much more than simply my daily workouts … I need to be “fit for life” and that means for all of the different roles I have and for the many daily demands that I face (#9 is three and as the baby of the family…still loves to be held)! Although the “demands” may change, they will only continue to be varied as I get older. In other words I need to be fit for all of my life, not just for the hour or so a day that I workout. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Running Tagged With: exercise, pelvic floor, women's health

How many Kegels Should We do Everyday?

January 31, 2012 by Whitney Hetzel Leave a Comment

I think there is a lot of confusion these days about how many Kegel exercises we should be doing.. I was told long ago that I should be doing at least 30 and as many as 60 Kegels everyday! In looking into this question, I recently came across an archive blog from physical therapist Tasha Mulligan’s Hab It blog. She describes a “quick flick” Kegel that is very efficient – you might be surprised at the number of exercises she suggests!

By Tasha Mulligan
I was asked a great question the other day regarding Kegel exercises and the confusion caused from some recommendations to complete 80+ repetitions per day vs. my recommendation to complete only 8-10 repetitions per day. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Strength Tagged With: Kegels, pelvic floor

An Improved Kegel Exercise

January 3, 2012 by Whitney Hetzel Leave a Comment

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to do more Kegels. I have never liked to do these exercises and I figured it was because I couldn’t really see the results. But I came across an article by physical therapist Tasha Mulligan, who explained another reason many women don’t like to do Kegels. She also gives us a tip on how to do them better. Hopefully others can benefit from reading this article as well! You can also check out Tasha’s excellent “Hab It” Blog!

By Tasha Mulligan
So many women have been told to “do your Kegels.” They may do hundreds each day with no results. Talk about frustration! What they need to recognize is the importance and key role of their transversus abdominus (TA) muscle in relieving symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction (including both prolapse and incontinence). This isn’t so much the fault of the women receiving the message but, rather, the fault of the health care provider giving this incomplete instruction. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Women's Health Tagged With: Kegels, pelvic floor

Three Things Women Can do for Exercise Induced Incontinence

September 12, 2011 by Whitney Hetzel Leave a Comment

We are starting to hear more people talk about issues related to the pelvic floor, and this is a really good thing. Pregnancy, childbirth, episiotomy, fibroids, chronic coughing, menopause, weight gain or inactivity all can contribute to decreased tone, strength, and flexibility of the pelvic floor. When this happens we can experience symptoms of urinary or stool incontinence or other problems related to pelvic organs such as sagging or prolapse, low back pain, painful intercourse, etc. Since the most common is urinary incontinence, most women can relate to the experience of leaking urine, whether during pregnancy, postpartum, or as they get older. And for many, exercising is where it rears it’s ugly head.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Running, Strength, Women's Health Tagged With: Core, exercise, pelvic floor

Let’s Not be Shy About Exercise-Induced Urinary Incontinence

July 20, 2011 by trinity Leave a Comment

runner Ok, lets get real. Urinary incontinence is very common in female runners (and those doing other forms of exercise). Researchers have found that as many as 30 percent of female runners have experienced incontinence while running. I happen to believe the number is a lot higher, it’s just not something most of us like to talk about. In fact, for women in general (not just those who exercise), it has been said that 1/3 have issues of incontinence as they age, and some sources say as much as 60% of women deal with the issue of incontinence. With statistics like this, why aren’t we talking about it? We should be. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Women's Health Tagged With: pelvic floor, physiotherapy, Womens health

A Few More Exercises For the Pelvic Floor and the Core

June 15, 2011 by trinity Leave a Comment

woman I have written about the pelvic floor on this website before. As I research and talk to professionals about this topic, I am amazed at the importance of this complex group of muscles, especially for women. Most of us know about Kegel exercises, and are hopefully already doing them regularly. I know I need to be even more consistent about doing them! However, there are many other exercises that can be done before or even during other core exercises that target the pelvic area as well. The following are some that strengthen the pelvic floor and the core, and can be done in just a few minutes while you are working out, or even right before bed: Core/pelvic floor exercises.

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Women's Health Tagged With: Kegels, pelvic floor, women's health

Pelvic Floor Exercises (Kegels): A How-To Guide

April 26, 2011 by trinity Leave a Comment

kegel The following is a guest post from physical therapist, Barbara G. Green, P.T., M.S. I have mentioned the Kegel exercise a few times on 9 Kid Fitness, and one of the things that I have discovered after working with Barbara is how much of a difference these exercises can make in strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. A sad fact is that stress incontinence (leaking urine) is one of the main reasons for admittance into nursing homes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Strength, Women's Health Tagged With: pelvic floor, Stress incontinence, women's fitness

My Goal…100 Push-ups!

April 12, 2011 by Whitney Hetzel 5 Comments

100 pushups My favorite exercise is the push-up. It is great for upper body and core strength, and you don’t have to have any equipment to do it. I remember my good friend Karrie, who is a personal trainer, telling me that when she is pressed for time with her clients, she likes to do push-ups because they are such an efficient strength exercise. Since I don’t do sit-ups because of the pelvic floor muscles, the push-up is one of the main abdominal exercises I do. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Pelvic Floor, Strength Tagged With: goals, pelvic floor, pushups