How strong is your pelvic floor?

Many women choose to ignore it, but caring for your pelvic floor is essential

- DR PHILIPPA KAYE

The pelvic floor. We’ve all heard of it, and we know we should exercise it, but we don’t necessarily know what it is, why we should do it, or even how to! In fact, fewer than one in five women exercise their pelvic floor muscles daily. But this is, hopefully, going to change as the latest draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said that teaching about the pelvic floor should be part of the national curriculum in secondary schools.

While we can’t see the pelvic floor, it’s still important. It’s a hammock of muscles in the pelvis, which stretches from the pubic bone at the front to the coccyx at the back and from side to side. The pelvic floor supports the organs within the pelvis, such as your bladder and bowel. It’s generally kept slightly taut and tense to help stop any leakage of urine, wind or stool. When you go to the toilet you relax your pelvic floor to do so.

Problems can occur if the pelvic floor is damaged, stretched or weakened. As we get older, the pelvic floor becomes weaker and it’s affected by the hormone changes of the menopause, which can make any pelvic floor issues worse. Pregnancy and childbirth can also stretch the pelvic floor. As can excessive straining, from constipation or having a chronic cough. Even obesity can affect it.