Why does the pelvic floor get SO tight?
I talk A LOT about opening the back side and releasing the posterior pelvic floor. You know - breathing into the butthole :) But, why does this area get so tight in the first place? Because I typically work with pregnant and postpartum mamas, we’ll dive into this body type/scenario.
Pressure
Being in a more narrow ribcage, pressure and the guts are often pushed downwards towards the pelvis. Think of this body type as more of a toothpaste. When we squeeze the tube from up top (narrow ribcage), the pressure and guts are pushed down into the pelvis to “catch” this influx of pressure.
Wide vs Narrow Infrasternal Angle (ISA)
Explore more on the importance of the ribcage here.
Add pregnancy on top of that, and there’s a lot to manage in the thoracic area: additional fluid, baby, etc. That’s a lot of pressure pushing down towards the pelvic floor!
The pelvic inlet (top of pelvis) widens to accept this increase in pressure down. Think of this position shift as a blossoming flower :)
This widening of the pelvic inlet creates more external rotation overall. Have you noticed a pregnant mama often walks with feet turned out?
External rotation position —> Tight Glutes
If I’m in a more externally rotated position overall, this creates a shortening of the fibers that run along the backside of the pelvis/hips. When this happens we get more length in the anterior pelvis/anterior pelvic floor as pressure pushes forward into the pelvis.
In strength training we can bias certain positions to open up the pelvic outlet to help create length through the tissues on the back side. We need to create length through these tissues in order to open the pelvic outlet to allow for more internal rotation capabilities overall.
I love exercises that focus on glute lengthening, improving relative motion, and biasing internal rotation. We can manipulate the amount of hip flexion to open up the posterior pelvic floor. 90/90, bear positions, squatting to 90 degrees, and hinging.
Below are a few exercise examples to explore.
The goal: being able to open up the backside and breathe into your butt to allow better facilitation (lift) of the anterior pelvic floor and help manage pressure from above. This will be KEY for managing pressure “leaks” like leaking with activities.
The pelvic floor takes a WHOLE body approach. While kegels may be a piece of the puzzle, they don’t address pelvis position - which impacts where we may “feel” the lift to begin with.
If you constantly feel “tight” on the backside, or need to visit a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist for internal release, I’d love to support you with a different lens to your training.
Questions? I’d love to chat!
Feel good mama.
xoxo,
Erica