Ah, the old pelvic floor. We’ve heard a lot about this part of the body in recent times. I’m sure there wouldn’t be many women who aren’t aware they should be doing their “pelvic floor exercises”. How many of us actually do them is a question for another day.
A quick reminder – what is the pelvic floor? Its the part that stops you wetting yourself and stops all your organs (think bladder, bowel, uterus) from falling inside out. Ick.
The importance of the pelvic floor starts to rise when we begin thinking about pregnancy and childbirth. I know I get a bit panicky when I think about tearing in labor and incontinence soon after! I had always thought – ‘do your exercises, you want a strong pelvic floor, then you’ll be right for childbearing’. For a lot of people that might be true, but for some it just isn’t.
I had an equestrian friend share with me her birth experience a year or so ago. It wasn’t pleasant. She ended up having a difficult delivery and needed help to get baby out. After the birth she saw a physiotherapist who told her that horse riding can actually make our pelvic floors too strong, which can make birth difficult.
Oh the joys. This is not something I had considered.
When I had my first midwife appointment I asked the question about horse riding and birthing. I got an immediate reply that yes equestrians and ballerinas can have a difficult time of it due to a pelvic floor that is too strong! I immediately stopped the adult ballet classes I had been taking to build my core and muscles for riding. I thought doing 2/2 of the aforementioned activities was pushing things a bit far.
Once I stopped riding at 20 weeks – you can read about that decision here – I booked in to see a women’s health physiotherapist. These lovely people are experts in all things down below that are related to our muscles and the functioning of those parts to keep our pants dry and our organs inside.
Seeing a women’s health physio is important because they can assess your pelvic floor (cue uncomfortable examination) and give you a personalised training program to improve things before you give birth. You might have a weak pelvic floor and need to do strengthening exercises – the physio can also make sure you are doing them properly and effectively – or you might have a tight pelvic floor that needs a different approach.
In my case, some of the muscles were quite tight and if we didn’t do something about it they risked not being able to stretch properly during labor and increase my risk of tearing. Instead of Kegel’s exercises my program involved ‘Perineal Massage’ (which all pregnant ladies should be doing from around 35 weeks), as well as some other stretches for my hips. This is where you stretch the pelvic floor muscles so that they have a better chance of stretching and not tearing as the baby is born. If you want to know more about perineal massage, have a read here.
So I will apologise for the medical post, but it’s an important thing to consider as a rider, and not something I had been aware of until I’d listened to my friend’s story. I’m really glad someone told me so I’ve been able to prepare. Will let you know how the birth goes!
Little Hoofbeats 