As a female fitness athlete, especially if you’re into CrossFit or other intense workouts, you might expect certain discomforts or issues to just be part of the game. But when it comes to your pelvic health, some symptoms are worth paying attention to.
Learn about common pelvic health dysfunctions in the blog post here.
During this post, we're going to dive into some of the common signs and symptoms you may experience that could indicate the need for working with a pelvic health physical therapist. Let's dive in!
Leaking During Exercise
One of the most common signs that you may need pelvic health PT is urinary leakage, or peeing a little during specific exercises. This can happen when you’re lifting heavy weights, jumping, or doing high-impact movements. It can often occur when you sneeze, laugh, or cough, causing downward pressure on the pelvic floor. Many athletes shrug this symptom off as normal, but it’s actually a sign that your pelvic floor muscles might need relaxation, strengthening, or improved coordination (or all of the above).
Pressure or Heaviness in the Pelvic Area
If you ever feel pressure or a sense of heaviness in your pelvic area during or after exercise, this could be a sign of pelvic organ prolapse. This happens when organs like your bladder, uterus, or rectum press against the walls of your vagina. If you’re lifting heavy weights regularly, the downward pressure on pelvic floor muscles increases, making prolapse more likely.
This is also a common symptom that women who have had children through vaginal birth may experience. With that said, if you've had children and are regularly participating in heavy lifting activities, your chance for experiencing prolapse symptoms could increase.
Pain in the Lower Back, Hips, or Pelvic Area
Lower back and hip pain are pretty common among CrossFit athletes, but did you know these can also be related to your pelvic floor? The muscles in your pelvic floor are connected to the muscles in your lower back, hips, and abdominals.
When these muscles are out of balance, tight, or too weak, you might experience pain in these areas. Connecting with your breath and core can help to reduce these symptoms. Learn about breath work as a foundational concept for any pelvic related dysfunction in the blog post here.
Constipation or Bowel Control Issues
Dealing with constipation or having trouble controlling gas might seem unrelated to fitness, but they can actually be connected to pelvic health. Weak or tight pelvic floor muscles can interfere with normal bowel function, especially if you’re often doing exercises that increase abdominal pressure.
Pain During Intercourse or Tampon Insertion
If you’re experiencing pain during intercourse or even when inserting a tampon, this is often a sign that your pelvic floor muscles may be too tight. As a rule of thumb, adequate mobility is critical to reduce your risk for injury during intense workouts. This includes mobility of your pelvic floor muscles, as well as hips, pelvis, and other surrounding joints. Intense workouts and repetitive movements can sometimes lead to over-tightening or stiffening of muscles and joints, creating tension that can result in pain.
Learn more about the role of mobility and stability in injury prevention at the blog post here.
Frequent Urination or Urgent Bladder Needs
Finally, feeling like you constantly need to go to the bathroom or having an intense urge to pee that’s hard to control can also be a sign of pelvic floor dysfunction. This is often due to either weak or overactive pelvic floor muscles.
It's also important to mention that a lot of times individuals experiencing this frequent urge to go to the bathroom will reduce their water intake to combat these symptoms. I'm here to tell you that dehydrating yourself is a recipe for success in terms of your workouts, along with the health of your bladder and pelvic floor. So, stay hyrdated.
How Pelvic Physical Therapy Can Help
If you've been experiencing one or multiple of the mentioned symptoms, I have good news for you: pelvic health physical therapy can help. A pelvic health physical therapist is trained to help with these unique issues by targeting the specific muscles and functions that support your daily life as well as your performance as an athlete.
Through a combination of strengthening, stretching, and functional exercises, you can regain strength, coordination, and control over your core, pelvic floor, and low back muscles in order to protect your pelvic floor and maximize your gains in the gym.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ignoring these symptoms doesn’t make them go away – they may even get worse over time. Seeking out help from a pelvic health physical therapist, like myself, can get you started on the path to being symptom free while also prioritizing your goals in the gym.
With all that to say, if you or someone you know is struggling with pelvic health issues like peeing your pants, pelvic pain, pelvic heaviness or pain with sex during workouts or just everyday activities, reach out! We can create a plan that supports your fitness goals while keeping your pelvic floor in check.
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