The second appointment with the pelvic floor therapist was much shorter than my first encounter as we already covered the large set of introductory questions. We started off with some questions on my progress and how I was finding my exercise routine.
We did another internal examination of the pelvic floor muscles and I was instructed to contract and release to measure my ability to hold a relaxed state. I did notice a definite improvement in my ability to consciously relax the pelvic floor so I was very happy about that. The exercises were definitely helping.
I was still finding some issues when sitting down , my pelvic floor muscles would feel tight often accompanied by a burning sensation or dull ache and sometimes the classic golf ball syndrome.
Probably the most important take away was the fact that I am very tense throughout he day and really need to learn how to relax in general. I bought a relaxation cd that was directly targeted for chronic pelvic pain and have been using since my 2nd appointment and it is frankly amazing for the pelvic floor as well as calming an overactive mind.
Important Take Aways
Lumbar Support
The Lumbar support for the chair helps maintain the natural curve of the lower spine while maintaining a good sitting posture with the sitting bones taking the the weight of the body and avoiding tucking the tailbone.
A good way to determine if you are sitting correctly is by paying attention to your breathing, Are you able to take a nice deep belly breath down into your pelvic floor. Then you are sitting correctly and the pelvic floor is able to relax.
Relaxation CD
The pelvic floor relaxation CD is probably one of the most important tools for people suffering pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain. For those of us with pelvic issues we really need to learn how to relax and a relaxation CD teaches you how to relax again .
there seem to be a few audio books available online to download for pelvic floor relaxation or you can visit a pelvic floor physio in order to get one but it is very similar to other relaxation cd and goes something like this
-> Start relaxing each body part starting from your face and working your way down to your toes.
-> To better feel the feeling of a relax limb or joint , first lightly tense the muscle then relax
-> Jaw tension has been closely associated with pelvic floor tension , always check in with face and jaw tension.
-> Do the same for the pelvic floor, lightly contract and draw in the pelvic floor and breath out and release the pelvic floor muscles.
-> It helps to cover your eyes with a towel or hankerchief to block out light so you can fully focus on the relaxation.
I shall be back with appointment number 3 if anyone is interested, we used an ultrasound on the pelvic floor muscles to help me visual the relaxing and contracting of the pelvic floor muscles.
I will also hopefully publish a post regarding levator ani syndrome, and what has helped for me as this must be one of the most frustrating disorders I have come across, full of uncertainty and miss diagnosis. Hang in there all the best :)
