2018, Responses from: Leanne Wait
Do you know of any exercises to help with my endo pain?
Pelvic floor release exercise – STOP, DROP & FLOP
With persistent pain like that experienced with endometriosis often comes a whole-body response where the nervous system becomes sensitive and certain muscles groups may become overactive as a type of protection. The pelvic floor is one such group. Commonly when I assess I find the pelvic floor muscles are tight, sore and they can be hard to release and relax.
When the pelvic floor is overactive doing pelvic floor strengthening usually compounds the problem making it tighter and sorer. Instead you may need to do the reverse which is like a reverse pelvic floor or kegal exercise. Can you release and lengthen your pelvic floor?
This can be a little tricky to master but the way I find most people understand it best is to talk about wind – (aka farting ;)).
Let’s try the Reverse Pelvic Floor which I call STOP, DROP & FLOP
- STOP – Sit or lie comfortably and relaxed
- DROP – Pull up like stopping the flow of urine and holding wind. Then let go and try and relax a little more like letting wind sneak out quietly as you might if you were in a meeting on an aeroplane or somewhere else you may no be able to excuse yourself from. This feeling of releasing wind is not pushing the wind out which usually makes a loud (fart) noise. It is a sensation often described as a softening, lengthening, opening, releasing and letting go feeling felt around the vaginal and anal openings.
- FLOP- Also release your stomach and let it go floppy and relaxed
- Spend a minute or 2 relaxed and belly breathing then continue with what you were doing.
- Repeat STOP, DROP & FLOP every 1-2 hours during the day to help reduce overactivity in your pelvic floor muscles.
If you are unsure a pelvic health physio can help you to know if your pelvic floor is overactive and how to release.