Will my pelvic floor fall out if I run too much?

Will my pelvic floor fall out if I run too much?

Now that’s a scary thought! Short answer is no - and thank goodness for that.

Long answer is also no… BUT it is important to make sure that your pelvic floor muscles are functioning at their best to avoid any unwanted symptoms.

What are pelvic floor muscles for?

Let’s dive into what I mean by that a little more and start with what the pelvic floor muscles actually are, and why they are so important to us as women.

The pelvic floor muscles are a sling of muscles that sit at the bottom on your pelvis. They function to control our bladder and bowels, aid in sexual function, and help to support our pelvic organs.

I always like to think of the muscles similar to a hammock. Sitting on top of the hammock are the very important pelvic organs - in women these are the bladder, uterus and rectum.

Just like a hammock, the muscles can move and stretch (all while still being supportive) depending on the pressure that is on them. If the hammock is damaged or weakened then it may not be able to support the pelvic organs as much, and this can lead to unwanted symptoms such as vaginal heaviness (prolapse), leakage (incontinence), or pain.

Pelvic floor exercises 

Not to worry though! Because targeted pelvic floor exercises for runners is a thing, and I am going to talk you through how you can look after this extra special part of your body.

The pelvic floor muscles are just like any other muscle in our body - which means they can be trained. Phewf. Treat them like you would your leg or arm muscles in the gym.

We want them to be strong, but also flexible. A muscle that is so tight that it can’t move is not much use to us, just like a muscle that is so weak that it can’t tighten. We need to find that perfect balance.

For running, we need pelvic floor endurance and speed. This is so that the muscles can keep up with us as we grace the pavements and trails with our presence for hours on end.

Below are my top tips on activating your pelvic floor, and how to train them as a runner.

How to activate your pelvic floor muscles:

• Start by sitting, or lying down on your back
• Take a big breath in to start, letting your belly move outwards
• As you breathe out, tighten your vaginal muscles as if you are holding in a wee or a fart (or both)
• You should feel a tightening/lifting up feeling internally
• When you are ready to breathe in again, see if you can feel the muscles relaxing back down

Helpful cues to try if you can’t feel the muscles working:

• Try imagining that you are sucking up through a milkshake straw through your vagina
• Try imagining that you are picking up blueberries with your vagina/anus
• Imagine a lift going up the different levels of a high rise building

Helpful cues to try if you can’t feel the muscles relaxing:

• Imagine ripples getting wider in a pool of water
• Imagine you are sitting in a warm bowl of water
• Imagine you are sinking into hot sand

How to train your pelvic floor muscles for running

• Aim to hold the muscles contraction for 10+ seconds, and repeat 10x
• Aim to do some ‘quick pulses’, seeing if you can tighten/relax quickly 15x
• Aim to hold your squeeze at 50% of your max pressure, for up to 1 min
• See if you can do all of the above in standing
• Don’t forget to fully relax the muscles between each rep!

I always like to say that when training your pelvic floor, it should be your little secret. No one in the room should know what you are doing - which means that the rest of your body shouldn’t be moving and you shouldn’t be holding your breath! This is also great as it means you can practice this while in boring work meetings, when sitting at traffic lights, or when waiting in a que. Multitasking at it’s finest if you ask me!

Pelvic floor dysfunction 

Just a side note on pelvic floor dysfunction. If you are pregnant, postpartum, or post menopause, OR if you are noticing any unwanted symptoms such as vaginal heaviness, leakage or pain - please please please book in to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist for an assessment. Trust me - you won’t regret it and your pelvic floor will thank you!