Power to the Pelvis
Happy Spring friends!
Here's your Power to the Pelvis newsletter for April! Here in Colorado we've been having some super windy days making it more difficult to enjoy the warmer weather of springtime. I'm thankful for the longer days of sunshine, sprouting new life, evening outdoor play for my kiddos, as well as some BIG NEWS for me - I expanded from my mobile pelvic health practice and opened up an office space at the end of last month. I'm hopeful that this will allow me to help more women in my community!
* Tip of the Month: time for a posture check
You live a busy life, hunching over your computer, phone, book, or steering wheel. This creates a change in your alignment (enter Forward Head and Rounded Shoulder Posture). This position may make you feel more sluggish and uncomfortable, or lead to increased pain. But worse, it secretly puts strain on your pelvic floor.
How we position ourselves in space is, at a base level, how our nervous system feels. When you're feeling happy or joyful, you may tend to stand tall and proud. But think about when you are feeling unhappy or insecure, you may tend to scrunch up your shoulders and huddle in, guarding yourself while reinforcing a postural pattern.
So, how is the Pelvic Floor affected?
We know posture changes how we feel. It changes how we move throughout our day. It affects our pain. The pelvic floor is like a hammock, cradling your organs and keeping everything in place. But when your posture is off, the pelvic floor has to work overtime, leading to potential problems down the road.
Consider these two things:
1. The nervous system: If we are operating and posturing in a fight-or-flight way, our pelvic floor muscles can start guarding against the perceived threat/stressor. Now, if the pelvic floor gets stuck into this tense, guarding state, it cannot provide its full function. Meaning, it will not be as supportive, will not help stabilize the back as well, and will become weaker.
2. Pressure and Load: For those who want to geek out a bit, let’s think about pressure and load when it comes to the body and force. If we place a 5-pound box on a table, we need a certain amount of force to lift it, right? Now, if that box is moved farther away from us, we will need to recruit more of our muscles to help us lift it. The farther away the box, the more force we need from our body to move it. So, let’s consider the head and how it is positioned on top of the pelvis. The average weight of the human head is about 10 pounds. If we move that 10 pounds forward 1-inch, we put more pressure through our cervical spine, and thus down on the pelvic floor. This doesn't take into consideration any pelvic tilt that occurs as a result of the shoulder and head position (which further affects the pelvic floor). Our pelvic floor was designed to act a spinal support to the head as it sits over our rib cage and pelvis. It was not designed to work its best when the head is forward. So, ultimately when we put too much pressure down on the pelvic floor, it can weaken the pelvic floor muscles and prevent the pelvic floor from working effectively because of this additional pressure.
Are you still with me? I can tend to geek out a bit when it comes to talking about the pelvic floor and the body's effect on pelvic floor function. To sum it all up, we want a neutral posture so that our nervous system is nourished and our muscles work effectively and pain-free. Posture is an integral part of a pelvic health assessment. It is one of the things I assess with my clients. I find it's important to bring about more balance within the body, more functional ways to move your body through space on a daily basis, recreating postural patterns that will decrease your pain and support your pelvic floor.
At Mountain Mama Pelvic Health, I offer free Discovery Calls to help navigate your pelvic floor symptoms and see if I'm a good fit for your needs. But for those of you who are not local to me, I do offer Wellness Consults and can help assess your posture and functional movement.
* Podcast I'm loving
Please join me in welcoming my friend Dr. Stephanie Davis to the podcast world! Dr. Davis, DC, MSc(s), IFMCP(c) has been a functional medicine doctor for the past 18 years, and has a passion for helping moms to thrive! She has a background in integrative and functional medicine, medical research, and subconscious and trauma therapy. She is a mom of young kids herself, and found a lack of balance in her own life as well as a lack of holistic medical care to help other moms manage daily stress, illness, nutrition, lifestyle changes, care of themselves and their families. She has a heart to share her knowledge with her Thrive Mama Tribe members and through her podcast. She helps moms to go from surviving to thriving in the Thriving Mama Program. (Side note: I'm planning to be a guest on an upcoming episode, so will keep you all posted on when that comes out!)
Have a listen here!
Did you try any of these tips? I'd love to know what you think. I read every email! And if you have something you are curious about or want more information on, let me know... maybe I'll add it to my next newsletter!
See you next month!
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