Pilates and The Pelvic Floor

Transcription

1 Pilates and The Pelvic Floor Kristina Rogan 10/30/14 Maroochydore Australia 1

2 Abstract: Some women feel like their lives revolve around their bladder. They find themselves searching for a public restroom even though they went to the toilet 20 minutes ago. Many of these women may also have pelvic pain, low back pain, bowel problems or pain during intercourse. Most will cope with their symptoms, despite the impact of their quality of life. Pregnancy and childbirth are not the only factors that can contribute to the symptoms of pelvic floor problems menopause, ageing, respiratory conditions, high impact exercise and poor bowel patterns are just a few of the many risk factors for developing symptoms. Many forms of exercise are unsafe for those with pelvic floor problems. Pilates with its awareness of the role of the pelvic floor in movement, has the potential to benefit these people, providing a safe outlet for movement. 2

3 Table of Contents 1. Title 2. Abstract 3. Table of Contents 4. Introduction 5. Guidelines for working with clients with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction 6. Anatomical description 7. Case study 8. Case study Programme 10. Conclusion 11. Bibliography 3

4 The Pelvic Floor is the group of muscles commonly referred to as your core. These muscles play an important role in bladder and bowel control and sexual sensation. Common signs that indicate a Pelvic Floor problem include: Accidently leaking urine when you exercises, play sport, laugh, cough and sneeze Needing to get to the toilet in a hurry or not making it there in time Constantly needing to go to the toilet Finding it difficult to empty the bladder or bowel Accidently losing control of the bowel Accidently passing wind Prolaps Pain in the pelvic area Painful sex People who are most at risk of a Pelvic Floor Condition are: Pregnant women Women who have recently, or ever, had a baby Women going through or have gone through menopause Women who have undergone gynaecological surgery such as hysterectomy Men who have undergone surgery for prostate surgery Elite athletes such a runners, gymnasts or trampolinists Are overweight Constantly lifting heavy weights either at the gym or part of their job 4

5 Guidelines for Working With Clients with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction As you know a one size doesn t fit all when it comes to exercise. It is important to tailor an exercise program to suit each individual and create a pelvic floor safe program. Pelvic Floor safe exercises refer to exercises, which place less stress on your pelvic floor and avoid downward pressure. Pilates is excellent for strengthening pelvic floor. In Pilates the pelvic floor muscles are used in their role as natural muscular support for movement. Examples of Pilates exercises to avoid are: hundred double and single leg stretch teasers arm supine series on reformer roll up upstretch group Pelvic Floor muscles must also relax after having contracted them during an abdominal exercise to avoid and overly tight pelvic floor developing. 5

6 Anatomical description Figure 1: Pelvic floor muscles are the layer of muscles that support the pelvic organs and span the bottom of the pelvis. The pelvic organs are the bladder and bowel in men, and the Bladder, Bowel and Uterus in Women. Figure 2: The Pelvic Floor Muscles stretch like a muscular trampoline from the tail bone (coccyx) to the pubic bone (front to back) and from one sitting bone to the other sitting bone. These muscles are normally firm and thick. 6

7 Case Study Helen is a 34 year old mother of two children, Daisy 3 and Poppy 1. It was not until Helen gave birth to her second child that she experienced problems. Helen found that everyday tasks such as coughing, laughing and sneezing made her lose control of her bladder. The turning point for Helen that prompted her to seek advice was after she participated in a 5k walk. By the time she reached the finish line she had completely wet her underpants. Helen went to see a physiotherapist who conducted an internal examination. The physio concluded that not only did she have very weak Pelvic Floor but also that she had difficulty activating the muscle. When her asked her to squeeze and lift she was pushing and bearing down or simply squeezing her buttocks. The physio recommended a Pilates work out to strengthen her pelvic floor. An introduction to Pilates was taken out with the focus to strengthen abdominals, back extensors and pelvic floor muscles to improve the bladder control. 7

8 Programme WARM UP roll down *Cue drop chin and chest to roll down, lateral breath at the bottom, inhale tuck the pelvis, lift pelvic floor and restack the spine. pelvic tilts, pelvic curl, shoulder bridge prep, hip circles, spine stretch, saw and spine twist. FOOT WORK (Wunda Chair) Foot work series Parallel heels, Parallel toes, V position toes, open v heels, open V toes, single leg heels and single leg toes. *Cue lifting pelvic floor each time the pedal is pressed down. Grow taller off your sit bones. ABDOMINALS (Reformer) Short Box Series Round Back, Flat Back, Tilt, Twist, Round About, Climb A Tree *Cue keep both sit bones in contact with the box and maintain a cocontraction of abdominals and back extensors HIP WORK (Reformer) Hip Work Series Frog, Down Circles, Up Circles, Openings *Cue zipping up legs together and lifting pelvic floor STRETCHING (Reformer) Hamstring Stretch Standing Lunge *Cue posterior pelvic tilt and during the hip flexor stretch and then to send the tailbone to the ceiling for the hamstring stretch 8

9 FULL BODY INTEGRATION 1 (Reformer) Stomach Massage Series Round Back, Flat Back, Salute *Cue Maintain C curve during round back. Keep Trunk stable and upright through out the movement of Flat Back Cat Stretch (Cadillac) *Cue tucking pelvis, scoop abdominals and lift pelvic floor to draw back into spinal flexion ARM WORK (Cadillac) Standing Arm Work Series Chest Expansion, Hug a Tree, Up Circles, Down Circles, Punches, Biceps, Butterfly LATERAL FLEXION/ROTAION (Cadillac) Side Reach *Cue Extend the arm by sweeping out to the side like a large fan to open the chest BACK EXTENSION (Cadillac) Prone 1 *Cue draw scapula together and down to avoid shoulders from lifting WARM DOWN Roll Downs 9

10 Conclusion: In conclusion, Helen has had great success through Pilates. She can now identify how to activate her pelvic floor muscles with out bearing down as she was before she started the program. Helen has been attending two Pilates sessions per week for the past two months and feels she is already far more confident. With the continued practice of Pilates Helen will no doubt obtain complete control over her pelvic floor condition and believes Pilates has changed her life! 10

11 Bibliography Body Arts and Science International Study Guide Pelvic Floor First Continence Foundation of Australia 2011 Harvard College 2006 Stock Medical Art