Tip Of The Week: The Nervous System Rules the Pelvic Floor.
Often times, people view their pelvic floor muscles in isolation. They see a problem as a "weakness" issue or perhaps a "tightness" issue. However, the nervous system is critical to consider when addressing problems related to the pelvic floor. Here are a couple of interesting ways your nerves, brain and entire nervous system matter to your pelvic health:
Sometimes "weakness" is really more a nerve problem than a muscle problem.
This can happen in cases of bladder leakage, for example. One of the presentations we often see with stress urinary leakage is a situation where the pelvic floor muscles are tense and overactive. This can lead to increased compression around the nerves that control the urethral sphincters. This compression can decrease the firing of those nerves, leading to delayed or less strong activation. You can read more about that at this recent blog.
Your "Fight or Flight" response can lead to a tensing pattern for the pelvic floor muscles.
The pelvic floor muscles have been shown to respond to threat or perceived threat in the body. If a person is experiencing stressful situations or traumatic situations that lead to a fight or flight response, they may have increased tension and delayed relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles. I wrote a blog on all of this too, and you can read it here.
Dealing with pain can lead to increased sensitivity of the nervous system.
This has been well-established in the literature, and is known as central sensitization. When this occurs, people can notice increased sensitivity of their muscles and tissues, and may actually need a different approach to get better.
I could go on and on. The nervous system is fascinating, but one thing we know for sure-- when addressing pelvic health problems, we have to make sure to view the pelvic floor muscles within the context of the rest of the body. This means considering the entirety of the person-- including their nervous system!
Weekly Tips Pelvic Health Tips By Dr. Jessica Reale PT, DPT, WCS