Pelvic floor exercises are THE most important thing to do after child birth. I feel that it’s not stressed enough how important these muscles are. These muscles  not just help you to poo and pee with ease but also work together with your core muscles to support your back. Pelvic floor muscles undergo a lot of stretching during pregnancy but also during child birth. Sometimes to the extent that they end up tearing. This can not only cause pain in the most crucial phase of looking after your child but also cause long term issues with bladder and bowel control. These 3 simple exercises can be started immediately after a natural child birth and after 6 weeks if there’s been any tearing in the muscles (without complications).

1. Pelvic floor exercises in crook lying

The first step is to understand what it should feel like when you’re doing pelvic floor exercises. So let’s begin. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Now place a small cusion or pillow between your knees and squeeze it. Now at the same time, draw your belly button in towards the spine. It’s not a big scoop of your tummy muscles. Just a gentle squeeze of your lower tummy. For the ladies, it’ll almost feel like a period cramp. You should also feel the muscles of your inner thigh working along with your pelvic floor muscles. Hold that contraction for at least 5 seconds and then relax. You only have to repeat it 5 times but make sure you also repeat it again 2-3 times /day. These are very effective set of pelvic floor exercises.

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2.Bridging with pelvic floor exercises

image of a woman doing pelvic floor strengthening exercises

Now we need to challenge your body a little . So the enxt set of pelvic floor exercises are a build up from the previous one. This time maintain that squeeze on the pillow between your knees and lift your hips off the bed by squeezing your buttock muscles as well. Make sure you go up until your buttocks feel tight. And hold again for 5 seconds before returning to the original position. Also repeat this 5 times and 2-3 times per day. These are not just pelvic floor exercises but also for core muscle and glut strengthening.

3. Pilates leg lifts are great pelvic floor exercises

image of a woman doing pelvic floor exercises

Pilates are great as pelvic floor exercises. Because they’re low impact especially done on a reformer. Do you remember that belly button tightening exercise? Ok so draw your belly button in but also this time squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as if you’re stopping yourself from going to the toilet. Remember , it’s just a gentle squeeze! If 100% was your maximum, it’s only about a 20% squeeze. You shouldn’t be holding your breath with any of these exercises! Once the muscles are tight, lift up 1 foot just a few inches off the bed and hold for 5 seconds. Alternate with the other foot. You should definitely feel a good squeeze now in these muscles. It’s important to understand that we’re looking for quality over quantity with pelvic floor exercises. These muscles are only small adn tire easily so it’s important to start slow i.e 5 repetitions and gradually  progress over time.

If you’re unsure if these pelvic floor exercises will work for you or to get a customised exercise plan, click on the button below to book a session with our Physiotherapist!