Pack a bag, grab a flashlight, and let's take a journey down to the pelvic floor.

If you're scrunching your eyebrows and asking, "the pelvic what-a-what??" you are not alone.

The pelvic floor is NOT the darkest, deepest level of some horror-movie parking garage.

The pelvic floor IS something every human has and yet, so few know about theirs intimately.

Why? In part because there's often a lot of shame associated with talking about our "private parts."

And, this is just my opinion (take or leave), our education and medical systems are such a hot, smokin' mess it's a wonder any of us know our arms from our legs let alone all the mysterious goodness of our pelvis.

So what IS the pelvic floor, really? Here's the quick and not-so-dirty:

• The pelvic floor is a group of ligaments, muscles, tendons, nerves, and connective tissue that provide the base and support for the pelvic area. All genders have a pelvic floor.
• In folks with ovarian systems, the pelvic floor holds the bladder in the front, uterus at the top, and the vagina and rectum toward the back.
• For people with testicular systems, the pelvic floor supports the bladder, bowel, urethra, and rectum. 
• The openings from pelvic organs pass through the pelvic floor. In all people, the pelvic floor muscles attach to the pubic bone at the front and the tail bone at the back. 

What's my fascination with the pelvic floor?

My own life-long experiences with pelvic trauma and pelvic floor dysfunction.

I'll spare you all the gory details and offer just the highlights:

• I had very invasive hip surgery at age 2 to remove a cyst that had begun growing in my hip socket and caused me to stop walking.
• As a soccer player, I routinely rotated my pelvis out of alignment. I had a skiing accident that left me with a torn ACL and pelvic messiness. I've slipped and crashed down on my sacrum more times than I can count.
• I experienced tearing and an episiotomy while birthing my daughter. The injury was so intense I was unable to sit comfortably for 18 months, at which time I was somehow already pregnant with my son.
• I've had urinary urgency issues my entire life. My mom said she'd routinely stop the car alongside the road so I could pee. (Good thing I grew up in the middle of nowhere, NY!)

My pelvis has been through a lot, to say the least.

I bet yours has too.

Over the last year, I've noticed shifts in my own pelvic health. I decided to do something about it. I joined Pelvic Health Professionals, a world-wide group of yoga teachers, PTs, massage therapists, physicians, acupuncturists, and other healers who are passionate about understanding and treating pelvic pain and dysfunction.

I recently found a pelvic floor physical therapist I really like. We had our first session last week and it "poked the sleeping bear." She diagnosed issues I did not know I had and confirmed intuitive knowing I had felt for years. I left feeling hopeful and profoundly emotional. I had a huge cry 2 days after the appointment, releasing a whole lot of sorrow that had been hibernating in my lower body. Hard work? Yes. Worthwhile? Definitely. I truly cannot wait to see how good I'll feel!

By now, you may be wondering if your pelvis needs a little TLC of the PT kind.

While not a complete list, you may benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy if you:

• leak urine when you cough, laugh, or sneeze
• have urinary or fecal urgency or "accidents"
• find sexual intercourse or penetrative sexual activities painful
• have chronic back pain that has not responded to other non-pelvic floor interventions such as general PT, pain medications or muscle relaxants, massage therapy, acupuncture or other treatments
• experienced birthing trauma, have had traumatic falls or injuries to your pelvis, or have a history of sexual trauma
• have pelvic organ prolapse or prostatitis

It is outside my scope of practice as a massage therapist to provide any internal pelvic floor touch.

However, massage therapy and yoga that invite muscle relaxation around the pelvis, gentle range-of-motion, and diaphragmatic breathing exercises can work in beautiful partnership with internal pelvic floor physical therapy.

Getting down with my pelvic health,

Jennifer (she/her)