Pelvic Floor 101: What Every Women Should Know

While it may not be comfortable talking about your pelvic floor muscles, women must know what they are and how to prevent and treat pelvic floor disorders. The pelvic floor refers to the muscles and tissue that support the pelvic organs.

Pelvic organs include the bladder, rectum, vagina, uterus, and urethra. When the pelvic muscles weaken, women can develop health issues that may impact their quality of life.

At Female Health Associates of North Texas, located in Fort Worth, Texas, fellowship-trained pelvic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Hantes has the expertise and compassion to diagnose and treat pelvic floor disorders. Here, Dr. Hantes shares what every woman should know about pelvic floor health.

Why is pelvic floor health vital to your well-being?

Your pelvic floor muscles not only support vital reproductive and excretory organs, but they also help them function. For example, squeezing and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles allows you to urinate, defecate, and pass gas. They help you hold it all in when laughing or coughing. On the other hand, weak pelvic floor muscles may lead to incontinence.

Additionally, pelvic floor muscles help maintain sexual function, such as vaginal contractions during sex and orgasm. Lastly, pelvic floor muscles are essential to facilitating vaginal birth during labor. While most women don’t think about their pelvic floor muscles when they’re functioning well, they may think about them a lot when they don’t.

Pelvic floor disorders

There are several reasons why pelvic muscles can become weak. For some, stretched out pelvic muscles during labor don’t rebound after giving birth. For others, repeated straining of the muscle through heavy lifting or frequent constipation can also cause problems. Lastly, pelvic floor muscles become weaker with age and with the loss of estrogen during menopause.

When these muscles weaken, the organs they support don’t function optimally. Common pelvic floor disorders include:

Pelvic floor disorders (PFD) are common in the United States. One study found that 25% of all women and 50% of women over 80 have at least one PFD.

Pelvic floor disorder treatment options

Fortunately, you don’t have to live with the embarrassment and discomfort of incontinence or organ prolapse. Depending on your age, health, goals, symptoms, and the nature of your disorder, nonsurgical and surgical options are available.

For incontinence and overall pelvic muscle strength, Kegel exercises (where you squeeze, hold, and release your pelvic muscles) can be beneficial. Diet and medication can help relieve constipation, which in turn can help alleviate stress on your pelvic muscles.

For pelvic organ prolapse, where one or more organs sag due to weak muscles, treatment depends on the severity of symptoms. Nonsurgical options include Kegels, estrogen therapy, or a pessary. For more severe cases, Dr. Hantes might recommend surgery to push the organ back into place and strengthen the pelvic area to keep it intact.

If you’re experiencing pelvic floor disorder symptoms, contact Female Health Associates of North Texas today to make an appointment with Dr. Hantes for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.