What Does Breathing Have To Do With My Pelvic Floor?

July 22, 2024

You may have heard that breathing is good for the pelvic floor, or you may have received breathing exercises from a PT before. But why? Here I will dive into how the pelvic floor and breathing are intimately connected and why it’s important in your pelvic floor care.

The diaphragm, which lies under the ribcage, is actually a large, dome-shaped muscle. This muscle contracts and drops down as you inhale, creating more space and vacuum effect to allow air into the lungs. Then it recoils, relaxes and lifts as you exhale and the air leaves the body.

To simplify and understand how the diaphragm and pelvic floor are related, we can think of the abdominal cavity as an aluminum can. The diaphragm is the top of the can. The pelvic floor is the bottom of the can. So you can imagine that as the diaphragm (top of the can) contracts and relaxes, the pressure gradient in our abdomen changes and our pelvic floor muscles (the bottom of the can) become involved as well. As the diaphragm descends, the pelvic floor muscles must also move down and lengthen. As we exhale and the diaphragm lifts, the pelvic floor muscles will also lift and shorten. In this way, by moving our diaphragm during breathing, we are also moving the pelvic floor muscles. 

So why is this important? A lot of pelvic floor dysfunction (think incontinence, constipation, pain with penetration, etc.) is due to difficulty with either contraction or relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles. By using diaphragmatic breathing, we can start to move the pelvic floor muscles and increase our awareness of where they are and how they move. Then, we have a foundation to train strengthening and/or relaxation further.

Sometimes we do not breathe optimally for our diaphragm. This may be because of a previous injury, a muscle or joint restriction, stress, or something else. We often do not achieve optimal diaphragmatic movement. FYI, breathing just into our belly or shoulders is not ideal. Rather, we want anterior (forward), lateral (side to side), and posterior (backwards) movement of our ribcage and diaphragm as we breathe. A good physical therapist can assess how you breathe and teach you new techniques and exercises to better utilize your diaphragm for improved pelvic floor function.

Need help? If you live in the Denver area, contact me at Activcore Littleton to schedule an appointment.

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this post are based on the opinion of the author, unless otherwise noted, and should not be taken as personal medical advice. The information provided is intended to help readers make their own informed health and wellness decisions.

Dr. Rachel Gerton

Physical Therapist
Rachel Gerton is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) who specializes in pelvic health with a particular interest in helping pregnant and postpartum moms. She also enjoys treating kids and those experiencing pelvic pain. She works at Activcore in Denver, Colorado, located just one mile from the popular Cherry Creek Shopping District. She also works at Activcore in Littleton, Colorado, which is located inside the Womens Health Care Associates OBGYN clinic.
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