10 Fast Facts about your Pelvic Floor Wow Wee (so to speak)

1. The Glutes and the Pelvic Floor are like BFFs. No Butt = No Pelvic Floor 
2. Not just found in women - we all have a Pelvic Floor! And just like women, men can have issues when the Pelvic Floor is not "on game"
3. Runners: The Pelvic Floor is connected to your Diaphragm. It is part of the deep core muscles responsible for stabilising your pelvis and chest when running, bears load and is super important in breathing. If you are bracing with your pelvic floor when you run, breathing becomes compromised.
And Breathing is kinda important when it comes to running 😉
4. Riders: Repetitive nerve irritation from a poorly positioned saddle (in an area we don't want to irritate a nerve ) can lead to a chronic guarding response in the pelvic floor muscles. This can manifest as restricted breathing, pain in the lower back, SIJ, pubis synthesis or hip pain. As well as numbness 😳

5. The Pelvic Floor attaches to the deep hip rotators, so tightness in the hips can create issues in the pelvic floor and vice versa
6. To quote Rhiannna "Shine bright like a Diamond" The Pelvic floor is shaped like a diamond. The floor is made up of 4 muscles that are like a sling or hammock, strung between at the front, your pubic bone, either side, your sit bones and at the back, your coccyx. May it shine bright like a diamond!
7. The Pelvic Floor is the the only horizontal weight bearing muscle in the body 
8. This will mess with your head but the pelvic floor is connected via fascia to your tongue, diaphragm, groin / adductor muscle, back of your knee, all the way down to the arch of your foot. And if there are issues anywhere along that path it can impact on the Pelvic Floor. "Wow Wee Indeed!!" I hear you say!
9. Stress Incontinence is just one signal that central stability is compromised.
10. The Pelvic Floor is not a lone wolf but part of a system of muscles of continence.