ARTICLE > TENSION IN THE PELVIC FLOOR
Do I have a tight pelvic floor?
Most people talk about strengthening a weak pelvic floor during pregnancy and after childbirth. But far fewer people talk about the opposite: an over-tight pelvic floor and the discomfort it causes. Here, we’ll go over what that means, common causes, symptoms, and what you can do about it.
⚡️ Article at a Glance
- Symptoms of a tight pelvic floor may include pain during penetration, difficulty emptying the bladder or bowels, and urinary leakage
- The cause is rarely just one thing —stress and involuntary clenching are two common contributing factors
- Deep breathing can help your muscles relax, and if your pelvic floor is tense, relaxing is usually a better idea than clenching it even more
What is a tight pelvic floor?
Have you ever experienced severe tension in your shoulders and neck? If so, you know that tense muscles are neither comfortable nor practical. The pelvic floor muscles work the same way, but because they’re located in and around the pelvic area, that’s where the discomfort is most noticeable.
However, the strain can also cause pain in other areas, such as the abdomen, groin, or thighs. This is called referred pain, and it occurs because the nerves in that area share pathways with other parts of the body.
Common symptoms of a strained pelvic floor
Common signs of a tight pelvic floor include:
- Pain and tightness during penetration or vaginal examinations
- Difficulty using tampons or sanitary pads due to tightness
- You have pain in your tailbone
- You have trouble emptying your bladder
- You have trouble having a bowel movement
- You are experiencing urinary incontinence
- You feel like you need to urinate very often
How does the pelvic floor become overstretched?
The cause varies from person to person, and it’s rarely just one factor. It’s usually the result of several factors working together, such as:
- That you are generally a stressed or tense person
- Past sexual abuse
- That you tense up, consciously or unconsciously, over a long period of time without allowing your muscles to relax sufficiently
- You're caught in a cycle of pain, where pain triggers tension, which in turn triggers more pain
- You have muscle damage on one side, which causes the other side to compensate by tensing up
- Sometimes the cause simply cannot be determined
Understand what's happening in your body
Understand what's happening in your bodyIn the app Mammaträning you can Carolina Jozic, a licensed physical therapist, walks you through relaxation exercises to help relieve tension in your pelvic floor.
Should I do Kegel exercises if I have a weak pelvic floor?
You probably shouldn’t—at least not as a first step. If your muscles are already tense, more Kegel exercises may make the problem worse instead of helping. We recommend focusing instead on relaxing your pelvic floor, sometimes in combination with light Kegel exercises and sometimes without them at all. If you’d like to read more about what Kegel exercises actually involve and when they’re most appropriate, check out our article on how to do Kegel exercises.
Do I need to seek medical care?
To know for sure whether your pelvic floor is overactive, a vaginal exam is usually necessary, during which a trained healthcare provider feels the muscles. This is the only way to confirm that you’re on the right track and focusing your energy on the right steps.
However, if you already suspect that your pelvic floor is tense, you can try the relaxation tips in the app Mammaträning. It never hurts to try relaxation techniques.
Article written by
Carolina Jozic
Physiotherapist
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