Boost Postpartum Pelvic Floor Strength Or Relieve Your Back

Women are informed during pregnancy that strengthening their pelvic floor — the diamond-shaped set of muscles that runs from your pubic bone to your tailbone and from your sit bone to your sit bone — is crucial for labor and delivery. However, working on strengthening these muscles after delivery is just as important for postpartum healing.

That's because your pelvic floor muscles help with breathing, enhancing sexual function and blood flow, and building a solid lower back, core, and hips, according to Helene Dorsmanin, an orthopedic and pelvic health physical therapist and founder of Mama Bear PT.

The benefits of strengthening your pelvic floor

Moms experience a slew of new aches and pains after giving birth, including rounded shoulders and a tight upper back and neck from breastfeeding, wrist pain from holding a baby, and lower back and hip pain. You can help avoid and treat some of these muscular imbalances and compensations by strengthening your pelvic floor.

"In general, if a body portion is not supporting itself or moving as well as it should, the surrounding parts will be stressed." So, if the pelvic floor isn't pulling its weight properly, it can cause stress in the lower back and hips, which can affect the upper back, neck, and shoulders," Dorsmanin noted.

"If your core were a box, the pelvic floor would be the bottom. A strong, supple pelvic floor is a crucial component of a healthy core, according to Darmanin. "Moreover, because the transverse abdominis, dubbed the deep, corseting ab muscles, usually co-contracts with the pelvic floor, strengthening the pelvic floor and surrounding muscles can aid in the healing of the transverse abdominis, which has been stretched during pregnancy."

However, strengthening your pelvic floor isn't the only thing you should do after giving birth. According to Darmanin, these muscles must also relax. The pelvic floor muscles supported the weight of your growing baby when you were pregnant, which may have caused them to become tight.

The 5 best pelvic floor exercises

Darmanin then revealed her favorite pelvic floor strengthening and lengthening exercises below. For best results, she suggests practicing these exercises three to four times each week.

"Many of my customers are more effective when they exercise on a regular basis because they can easily convert it into a habit, such as after putting the baby to bed or squeezing in 10 minutes a day." However, some [exercise] is preferable to none! She advised, "Give yourself grace, especially at this time of massive change, and do what you can!"

1- Puppy pose:

According to Darmanin, this stretch helps the pelvic floor relax by opening the bottom of the pelvis. It also extends the upper back and shoulders, which may have become tight from carrying your child.

How to: Sit on the floor in a tabletop position with your hips directly above your knees and shoulders directly above your wrists. Stretch your arms forward as you bring your forehead and chest to the ground, maintaining your hips above your knees. Take strong breaths to extend the rib cage and hold this position for 30 seconds.

2- Diaphragmatic breathing:

When you take deep breathes, your diaphragm — the muscle that sits at the base of your chest and controls breathing — and pelvic floor duplicate each other's actions, according to Darmanin. This exercise can help you get into the habit of tightening and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles in a rhythmic manner.

Place one hand on your tummy and the other on your chest while lying face-up on the floor with your shoulders relaxed. Inhale for 5 seconds through your nose, being sure to fill your ribs from front to back and side to side. Keep your chest somewhat still. Exhale slowly for a count of 5 with your lips pursed.

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