Pelvic Floor Problems in Women: Causes and Treatment

Pelvic floor problem is a common condition where you’re unable to correctly relax and coordinate the muscles in your pelvic floor to urinate or to have a bowel movement. If you’re a woman, you may also feel pain during sex, and if you’re a man you may have problems having or keeping an erection

These problems may include abnormally heavy menstruation, stress incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse which can affect the bladder, the vagina, uterus, small bowel, and rectum, or uterine fibroids which are benign tumors consisting of connective tissue and muscle in the uterus

A healthy pelvic part is essential for good sexual health. Unfortunately, many individuals struggle with pelvic floor disorder. Pelvic dysfunction is a common condition where you’re unable to correctly relax and coordinate the muscles in your pelvic floor to urinate or to have a bowel movement.

What is pelvic floor problem?

Many women have pelvic floor problems. These are related to the muscles situated in the pelvis, which are responsible for good function of the bladder, intestines, uterus, ovaries etc. This problems are usually caused by an overactive bladder, weak muscles, which cause the muscles to shorten.

It is very important for women to have strong pelvic floor muscles, which should be contracted voluntarily, for up to twenty seconds. Strong pelvic floor muscles will help to prevent leakage of urine, avoid constipation and other problems. To strengthen the muscles, you will have to use the proper exercise, like kegel exercise. Such exercises strengthen the muscles and even improve the sexual experience.

Pelvic floor problem is common in women after childbirth, during menopause, after hysterectomy, in women with urinary issues, in women with obesity, in women with constipation, in women with chronic cough, in women with chronic back pain etc.

It is known as pelvic floor dysfunction which usually affects women in the age group of 30-40. If you have pelvic floor problem for a long time it may lead to many disorders like urinary incontinence, urge incontinence, fecal incontinence etc.

Causes of Pelvic Floor Problem

It is an important system of muscles and connective tissue forming an anatomic structure within the pelvis. Clinically, the pelvic floor is the posterior vaginal wall, both levator ani muscles, the rectovaginal septum, perineal body, and the coccygeus muscle.

Pelvic floor dysfunction results when one or more of the muscles are not working properly. These problems can be caused by pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, aging, chronic constipation, chronic cough, chronic diarrhea, or any disease process which causes an increase or decrease in the pressure in the abdomen or pelvis.

Pelvic floor disorder symptoms

It can be identified by some symptoms. Stress incontinence, the loss of urine with physical activity, coughing, sneezing, or laughing. Other symptoms of disorder include the need to urinate more often or urgently than usual, noticing a new or different stream of urine, or the need to find the bathroom without making much effort.

Pelvic floor problem treatment

Disorder is a condition associated with dysfunction or injury to the pelvic floor. It may cause urinary and fecal incontinence and an inability to control the bladder and bowel, leading to pelvic floor dysfunction.

An injury to the pelvic floor may occur during childbirth, but some studies have shown that dysfunction is mainly caused by non-childbirth related factors. One such non childbirth related factor is chronic cough such as with asthma, emphysema and bronchiectasis. Women with chronic cough have a greater risk of developing pelvic floor dysfunction than women without chronic cough.

Different Pelvic floor problem symptoms you might experience

There are several symptoms that can occur after experiencing an injury to the pelvic floor. If you experience pain during sexual intercourse, you may have experienced an injury to the pelvic floor.

Painful bowel movements: Constipation or painful bowel movements can be signs of a pelvic floor injury.

Pain during exercise: Exercise is a very important part of the healing process if you’re experiencing an injury to the pelvic floor. If you experience pain while exercising, it’s a good idea to see your doctor.

Stress urinary incontinence is one of the most common types of pelvic floor problems faced by women. It is associated with pregnancy and having babies. The pelvic floor muscles become too weak and loose to hold in urine, which can result in a person leaking ordinary amounts of urine.

To help combat effects of stress urinary incontinence you should have regular bladder training, if this doesn’t work it can be treated with a surgical procedure but there are several non-surgical treatments available first including bladder retraining.

Another major cause of issues with your pelvic floor muscles as well as other muscles in the body that sometimes people aren’t aware of is known as hyper tonicity which is where tightness affects certain muscles causing them to be prone to spasm and pain from over activity examples include chronic coughing from bronchitis or asthma, or over doing certain exercise’s such as netball, basketball or running which could also lead to muscle damages.

Common causes of pelvic floor disorder

I’m presuming you’re looking for more on the causes of pelvic floor disorder, not the symptoms, so here’s a list of common causes.

Firstly, age. As the body ages, the muscles in the pelvic area begin to stretch out and lose their tone, leading to pelvic floor issues in both men and women. Pregnancy and childbirth, which take quite a physical toll on the body.

Pushing out hard during childbirth or during bowel movements can also cause pelvic floor disorder. It’s worth noting that disorder is more common in women than in men, because of the anatomical differences between the two sexes.

These include injury to the pelvic floor due to vaginal childbirth, aging, obesity, smoking, abnormal hormone levels, infection, inflammation, chronic coughing, chronic constipation, trauma, obesity, overweight, chronic cough, chronic constipation, masturbating or excessive sexual activity, constant lifting.

Final Verdict:

Pelvic floor problem is a common condition where you’re unable to correctly relax and coordinate the muscles in your pelvic floor to urinate or to have a bowel movement. Its is a common condition that affects people of all ages. If you are suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction, you are not alone. Fortunately, there are many treatment options available for this condition. If you are suffering from pelvic pain, it is important to consult with a specialist.