Pelvic Health Check

Ever since having a baby, and of course now working in Pre & Post Natal Fitness and Corrective Exercise I have made a conscious effort to become more aware of my body and ensure I get checked by a women’s and pelvic health physio at least once a year. My first visit to phphysiotherapy (you can find them on my Specialists page) and seeing the lovely Jennie, was 3-4 months after I gave birth to Coco. It was the first time I had ever been aware of a physio specialising in pelvic health and it made me realise that there needs to be more education and awareness out there! As such, I am delighted to share with you the amazing and very thorough annual pelvic health check I had with the lovely Jennie. I highly recommend her and the phphysiotherapy team without hesitation. Any woman, particularly mums/mums to be, should get a consultation booked in! If you are suffering from any core or pelvic floor dysfunction such as diastasis recti, urinary or fecal incontinence or prolapse then the need to book yourself in is even greater!

Let’s talk about the face to face process…

Firstly, with COVID-19 there is a screening process in place on entering and full PPE gear worn. It’s completely safe! No crossover between clients either so social distancing is easily maintained. 

Jennie and I originally had a 40 min initial tele consultation where we went through my concerns, aches and pains and ran through my answers to a detailed questionnaire I had filled out in advance. During the face to face, the checks that Jennie carried out were as follows:

1. In Standing – my spine, scapula and back muscles (traps, rhomboids, lats) checked for movement, strength and mobility e.g. through bending down to touch the floor, scapula retractions, side bends, thoracic rotations side to side.
2. Side Lying – further checks along my spine and shoulders as well as hip flexor and glute function. Glute strength was tested through resisted clams. 
3. Supine – checks along the base of my ribs and diaphragm function through deep breathing, nice full inhales! Also my shoulders and pectoral muscles were checked for tightness. 
4. Pelvic Health – a review of the superficial layer (the outside/opening) for sensation. Pelvic floor exercises were checked (the ability to squeeze and relax). In addition, an internal exam was conducted to check the ‘deep’ layer through slow and fast pelvic floor contractions (the ‘lift’) and relaxation specifically looking at movement, strength, endurance and control.

It is safe to say that the whole process was extremely thorough and covered all my concerns and more!

What was the outcome?

1. Back and Scapula – Jennie confirmed I had good scapula positioning, movement and retraction (being able to draw my shoulder blades together). My right hand side has more muscular tone than the left but this is expected as I am right handed and I hold my toddler, Coco, mainly on my right. I was concerned I may have a slight twist in my spine (scoliosis) through the way I carry my daughter, but this was not the case! Fab news – my back is functioning correctly!
2. Breathing – good diaphragm and core function was reported back. Also great as I have worked so hard on this ever since becoming a mum!
3. Pecs – these were tight both pec minor and major and therefore likely to be impacting my serratus! All that sitting at a laptop during lockdown and carrying Coco has contributed to my shoulders rounding more and is the likely cause of my back tingling when I’m seated. I therefore need to work on stretching out the chest and my posture when working at home from a computer! 
4. Glutes – good strength reported. Yasssss! I’m glad all that training, even during lockdown, is paying off. See my earlier blog on Mum Bum!
5. Pelvic Floor – Jennie stated great movement, contraction & relaxation and “perfect control”! I am literally so chuffed with this!! It is so nice to know that what I prescribe to my clients actually works! I am living proof YAY! I did hold a bit of tension at the start which is to be expected when a finger gets inserted inside you! I also began to tire as we progressed so it is important to keep practising kegals and activation through functional movements and/or when loading (exercise, weight lifting).

So ladies, you see I do practice what I preach and it does make a difference! Obviously Jennie can confirm if I’m just bigging myself up too much here!  

So what was prescribed for me to takeaway and do at home?

1. Stretches – to open up the shoulders and chest. For example, pec stretches on a foam roller and backstroke stretch.
2. Strength – scapula / traps squeezes to retract the shoulders to again help with the tight pecs!
3. Pelvic floor – continue with kegals through slow (10s hold and relax fully for 10 repetitions), plus fast contractions (10 repetitions of quick lift and relax) alongside pelvic floor activation through exercise. Kegals 2 times per day is decent alongside working the pelvic floor through exercises (for example squats and deadlifts).

So there you have it! The complete lowdown. I hope you found this blogpost useful and if you have any questions for me I’d be happy to answer at rachel@rebornactive.com or put you in touch with Jennie and phphysiotherapy directly.

R x