4 Signs of a Pelvic Floor Issue (And What's Causing It)
Both men and women have a pelvic floor. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that are found in the base of your pelvis and form the foundation for organs like your bladder, uterus (or prostate in men), and rectum.
These muscles are a support structure that keeps everything in place within your pelvis. When these muscles contract or relax, they give you control of your bowel movements, urination, and (particularly for women) sexual intercourse. However, issues arise with the pelvic floor when these muscles have either weakened or they are too tense.
Many people experience pelvic floor issues where the muscles don’t work as they should. Women are particularly affected by pelvic floor issues with almost one-quarter of women facing pelvic floor disorders.
But how do you know if your pelvic floor isn’t working the way it should? In this article, we will show you 4 signs that you may have a pelvic floor issue.
Sign 1: Urinary Issues
One of the most common signs of a pelvic floor issue is urinary problems. This could mean:
Leaking urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing, or running
Failure to reach the toilet in time
Full incontinence
An urgent need to urinate
Painful urination
Incomplete emptying of the bladder
If the muscles that help control your bladder are too weak or too tense, you may experience one or more of the above issues.
Sign 2: Bowel Issues
As the pelvic floor muscles also help support the rectum, you may also experience bowel issues. This could include bowel incontinence or the inability to control passing gas if the pelvic floor is too weak. In addition, you may also experience constipation or straining during defecation if the muscles are too tense.
Sign 3: Issues During Sexual Intercourse
This particular sign of pelvic floor issues is going to look different for men and women. For men, they may have difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection during sexual intercourse. For women, issues could come in the form of decreased arousal and sex drive as well as pain during intercourse.
Sign 4: Vaginal Pain or Bulge
For women, when the muscles that hold the uterus, rectum, and bladder loosen and become too stretched out, it’s possible to experience pelvic organ prolapse, or organs that stick out of the vagina or rectum.
If you’re experiencing prolapse, you will feel vaginal pain or pressure, lower back pain, a feeling of heaviness or fullness in the vulva, pain during intercourse.
What Causes Pelvic Floor Issues?
There are a variety of factors that can cause any of the above signs that you are experiencing a pelvic floor issue.
One common misconception is that pelvic floor issues are a common part of aging. While it’s true that issues are most common in older men and women, they are not a normal part of aging.
Instead, pelvic floor issues can be caused by any of the following factors:
Childbirth - This is one of the main causes of issues in women. Chances of developing pelvic floor issues can increase the more children a woman delivers and if the baby was large at birth.
Weight - Men and women who are overweight or obese are at a larger risk of developing pelvic floor issues than those who aren’t.
Trauma - A traumatic injury to the pelvic region can cause pelvic floor issues.
Genes - Heredity could play a role in whether or not you’ll experience pelvic floor issues. Some people are born with naturally weaker or tighter connective tissue.
If you have any of these symptoms of pelvic floor issues, you know that they can greatly affect your quality of life on a daily basis. But the good news is that the condition is highly treatable with the right care.
The doctors and medical experts at Norman Urology Associates are dedicated to helping you get these issues under control to improve your quality of life. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss the symptoms you’ve been experiencing so we can get you on the road to recovery quickly.