I have some questions for you.
Do you leak when you cough/sneeze? Do you have to sit down whenever this happens? My mom does.
Do you leak when you run, play sports, work out or lift something heavy, like your baby?
Do you leak when you jump on a trampoline or show your kid how to do jumping jacks?
Can you relate?
Leaking is very common but it’s NOT NORMAL! Repeat that to yourself over and over.
There are many reasons why leaking is an issue but the main reason is because of pressure management in your abdomen. You abdominal muscles and certain back muscles are meant to be stabilizers and assist in controlling abdominal pressure. Your diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles are meant to work together moving with your breath to assist in controlling pressure. Are you sensing a pattern?
The abdominal muscles become stretched out with pregnancy and are not able to do there job of stabilizing any more. This means something has to take over and/or compensate…..drum roll please…..your back and diaphragm muscles! Your back muscles will have to overwork to help compensate (which can lead to back pain). Your diaphragm ends up helping with the stabilizing part instead of the breathing and controlling abdominal pressure part.
YES, your diaphragm muscle ends up doing a different job then it is supposed to. That means it is not working together with your pelvic floor muscles to help control pressure and your pelvic floor muscles cannot do the job on their own. This is why we get leaking.
Pressure and fluid always go through the “path of least resistance.” Do you remember that physics law from school? If your abdominal pressure becomes too great, then the pressure and fluid will travel from high pressure to low pressure. AKA out your perineal area as leaking or eventually maybe prolapse. Your body is saying ‘I NEED HELP!”
Pelvic Floor Therapy can help to retrain the diaphragm and breathing component as well as the core stabilizing component so that everything is happy and working together. Leaking is telling your body I need help or there with be more problems such as prolapse, hernia, or daily issues down the road. Pelvic Floor Therapy can help prevent these problems and even prevent surgery.
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