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When I was in physical therapy school, there was no lecture on the pelvic floor despite “the core” being all the rage with fitness professionals at the time. Even today the core can be discussed without any reference to the pelvic floor.
If core dysfunction is common and certainly deemed as something important to remedy, the pelvic floor cannot be left out.
Likewise understanding what makes up our core is necessary in order to solve the dysfunction. While the core can often be simplified down to include only the abdominal muscles, four main muscle groups make up the core.
The core acts more like a pressure canister within our trunk.
This pressure canister can be more easily understood by thinking of a pressure canister that is more familiar such as a can of Coke.
Think of the top of the can being the diaphragm, the front of the can as the transverse abdominis, the back of the can being the multifidus and the bottom of the can as the pelvic floor.
These muscle groups along with the spine, lower rib cage, and pelvis provide the walls, roof, and base of the pressure canister.
It is the proper, intricate interplay between each muscle group in the canister and the ability for each muscle group to function well that prevents core dysfunction.
The pelvic floor, transverse abdominis, and multifidi work together before an action even occurs to prepare the ribcage, lower spine and pelvis for a movement. In this way, they have an anticipatory response controlled by the brain.
The four muscle groups as a whole work together to ensure our structure is stable so that we can perform a task. This teamwork per se also ensures we can maintain pressure within our abdomen. Pressure is produced within our abdomen all day long as we lift, jump, bend, squat, cough, sing, or even descend stairs and the list could go on. Proper management of intraabdominal pressure within our trunk helps prevent a breach in pressure such as a hernia, urinary or bowel leakage, or pelvic organ prolapse.
Why are pelvic health physical therapists well-poised to tackle core dysfunction?
Pelvic health PTs understand the anatomy of the core or the abdominal canister well. If one part of the core is restricted or not activating well, it can cause injury or ‘give’ in another part of the body. The pelvic floor happens to be the master compensator within the core, so it is not uncommon to see this muscle group overworking and becoming short, tight and ultimately ineffective because the other muscle groups are underworking.
Any questions? Brentwood Pelvic Health would love to hear from you.
*Blog content is for informational purposes only, and is not considered medical advice.
