Menopause and Pelvic Floor Health:
Understanding the Impact
Menopause marks a significant transition in a woman’s life, defined by the end of menstrual cycles and typically occurring between ages 45 and 55. This natural process brings hormonal changes that can significantly affect the pelvic floor—the group of muscles, ligaments, and tissues supporting the bladder, uterus, and bowel. Maintaining pelvic floor health is crucial for bladder and bowel control, sexual function, and preventing complications like pelvic organ prolapse.
Hormonal Changes and Their Effects on the Pelvic Floor
Role of Oestrogen and Progesterone
Oestrogen and progesterone are vital for maintaining pelvic floor strength and elasticity. These hormones also keep vaginal walls thick and elastic, which is essential for sexual comfort and sensation. During menopause, the decline in these hormones can weaken pelvic floor muscles, leading to issues like urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and sexual dysfunction.
Symptoms of Hormonal Changes…common symptoms include:
• Urinary incontinence
• Pelvic pain
• Vaginal dryness
• Decreased sexual sensation
Pelvic Floor Muscles and Menopause
The pelvic floor muscles support critical organs and control urinary and bowel functions. Declining oestrogen levels during menopause can weaken these muscles, especially our type II fast twitch muscle fibres, causing problems such as:
- Urinary incontinence: Involuntary leakage of urine, often triggered by activities like sneezing or exercise.
- Pelvic organ prolapse: A condition where pelvic organs descend into the vaginal canal due to weakened muscles.
- Sexual dysfunction: Reduced sensation and discomfort during intercourse.
- Urinary tract infections and difficulty emptying the bladder.
Managing Urinary Incontinence During Menopause
Types of Incontinence:
- Stress Incontinence: Leakage during physical activities.
- Urge Incontinence: Sudden, strong urges to urinate.
- Mixed Incontinence: A combination of stress and urge incontinence.
Treatment Options:
- Pelvic floor exercises. Learn the lift of the pelvic floor ‘kegel’ initially and swiftly move on to incorportaing it within functional moves. I have quite a few clips of these moves on my instagram here, and if you would like an in-depth 4 week focus to empower you to the strongest core of your life, check out the details here.
- Bladder training: Helps the bladder hold more urine.
- Lifestyle changes: Avoid bladder irritants, maintain a healthy weight, and quit smoking.
- Medical interventions: Talk to your GP
Pelvic Organ Prolapse: Causes and Solutions
Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when there is too much downward pressure on the pelvic floor, perhaps due to:
- constipation
- a pressure management issue like a diastasis or incorrect exercises or posture,
- or weakened pelvic floor muscles that fail to support organs like the bladder or uterus.
- Or scar tissue dragging into the pelvic floor, like an episiotemy scar
- Factors like pregnancy, obesity, and menopause increase the risk.
Symptoms include discomfort, pressure, and difficulty with bowel or bladder functions.
Treatment Options
- Pelvic floor exercises to strengthen support muscles. Mild prolapses, like a grade 1, can be reversed with correct exercise + breathwork techniques. Grade 2 is a little more complex, but with dedication, you too, can have a lot of support for this grade of prolapse. Within the Ab Rehab 4 week focus, there are very specific moves to help you with your prolapse.
- Hormone therapy to improve tissue tone. Please do talk to your GP about topical oestrogen cream.
- Surgical options for severe cases.
- Maintaining Pelvic Floor Health During Menopause, including nutrition to relieve constipation. Do ask for more details, and know that there is a section dedicated to this in the e-book that accompanies the Ab Rehab 4 week focus.
Peri-Menopause + Menopause can profoundly affect pelvic floor health, but proactive steps like exercises, lifestyle changes, and seeking medical advice can help maintain strength and function. Addressing these changes ensures an empowered menopause and beyond. Remember that although this topic is NOT widely spoken about, it is common, and there is always something you can do about it.
Do chat with me if you have any concerns,
Love Jana xx
