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Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness

Evidence-based pelvic health teaching since 2010
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Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness

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Created OnMay 19, 2019
byPHS Team

Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness?

The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that attach to the front, back and sides of the bottom of the pelvis and sacrum. They are like a hammock or a sling, and they support the bladder, uterus, prostate and rectum. They also wrap around your urethra, rectum, and vagina.

These muscles must be able to contract to maintain continence, and to relax allowing for urination, bowel movements and penetration.

Overactivity/hypertonicity, or tightness of pelvic floor muscles, may contribute to various types of pelvic pain and/or incontinence, urgency and frequency of the bladder and bowels.

Overactive/hypertonic pelvic floor muscles can cause the following symptoms:

  • Urinary or fecal incontinence
  • Urinary or fecal frequency/urgency
  • Urinary hesitancy
  • Stopping and starting of the urine stream
  • Painful urination
  • Incomplete emptying
  • Constipation and straining
  • Pain during or after bowel movements
  • Unexplained pain in your low back, pelvis, hips, genital area, or rectum
  • Pelvic pain
  • Pain during or after sexual penetration, orgasm, or sexual stimulation
  • Uncoordinated muscle contractions

Pelvic floor muscle issues are diagnosed by specially trained doctors and physiotherapists using gentle internal and external “hands-on” or manual techniques to evaluate the function of these muscles. They will assess your ability to contract and relax these muscles and also feel for points of tenderness.

The bones and muscles of your lower back, hips and sacro-iliac joints will need to be assessed as well since these joints can affect your pelvic floor muscles. When your pelvic floor muscles are tight or weak, they can contribute to dysfunction in the joints of your back and hips, leading to persistent low back and hip pain.

If an internal examination of the muscles is too painful, the connective tissue of your abdomen, thighs, groins and low back are often very tight. The connective tissue forms the container of the muscles, and these often need to be relaxed before any internal work can be done. This connective tissue dysfunction becomes the priority before addressing the tender points in order for tight muscles to be effectively treated.

When your pelvic floor muscles are tight and weak, the tension is treated before the weakness. Once the muscles have reached a normal resting tone, and are able to relax fully, their strength is reassessed and pelvic floor strengthening exercises are prescribed if appropriate.

Being gentle with your own body is an important part of treatment for pelvic floor muscle problems. You should avoid pushing or straining when urinating and ask your health care provider about how to treat constipation.

Learning how to relax the muscles in the pelvic floor area is crucial, and doing Reverse Kegels may help in lengthening and relaxing these muscles. Regular deep breathing is also an important part of learning to relax tension in all of your muscles, but particularly the pelvic floor. Relaxing self-care practices such as taking warm baths can also be a helpful tool.

Persistent pain education is a critical factor in treating pelvic floor muscle problems, since the pelvic area is one where we often hold our stress. Our thoughts, attitudes and beliefs including our anxiety and stress can show up in our bodies and perpetuate the tension and pain in our pelvis. Understanding how our pain system works has been shown to be an effective way of reducing the threat of ongoing pelvic floor problems.

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    • For The Patient
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    • What is Pelvic Floor Health Physiotherapy
  • Why Do We Do an Internal Exam?
    • Why Do We Do an Internal Exam?
  • The Biopsychosocial Approach
    • The Biopsychosocial Approach
  • Incontinence – Urinary and Fecal
    • Incontinence: Urinary and Fecal
    • Facts and Myths About Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Weakness
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening (Kegels) for Females (Or If You Have a Vulva/Vagina)
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening (Kegels) for Males (or if you have a Penis)
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    • Overactive Bladder
    • Bladder Irritants
    • Nocturia
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    • What is Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)?
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    • The Knack
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    • Bowel Dysfunction
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Weakness
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening (Kegels) for Females (Or If You Have a Vulva/Vagina)
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening (Kegels) for Males (or if you have a Penis)
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness
    • Constipation
    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
  • Pelvic Floor Muscle Weakness
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Weakness
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening (Kegels) for Females (Or If You Have a Vulva/Vagina)
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening (Kegels) for Males (or if you have a Penis)
    • The Knack
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    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness
    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
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    • Persistent Pelvic Pain
    • Pelvic Tissue Dysfunction
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness
    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Pudendal Nerve Irritation
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
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    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
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    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
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    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
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    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
    • Catastrophization
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    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Sleep
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
    • Catastrophization
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    • Vulvodynia
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    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
    • Catastrophization
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    • Vulvar Care
    • Accommodators and Dilators
    • Lubricants and Moisturizers
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    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness
    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
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    • Diet Modification for IC/BPS
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    • Deep Breathing Exercises
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    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
    • Nutrition and Persistent Pain
    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
    • Catastrophization
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    • Pelvic Tissue Dysfunction
    • Pelvic Floor Muscle Tightness
    • Deep Breathing Exercises
    • Reverse Kegels (Pelvic Floor Drops)
    • Sensitive Nervous System
    • Types of Pain
    • Understanding Pain Better
    • Laughter
    • Sleep
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    • Connective Tissue Dysfunction
    • What Are My Myofascial Tender Points?
    • Self-Treatment Techniques for Foam Rolling
    • Pain Education in a Nutshell
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    • Diastasis
  • Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP)
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  • Tailbone (Coccyx) Pain
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