Did you know these were solvable symptoms of an over-recruited pelvic floor?

Have you ever wondered why intercourse often feels burny or painful?

Or why you struggle to keep a tampon in or why it’s painful to insert?

What about spasms in your pelvis?
Painful feelings in and around the vagina?

Tailbone pain?

Constipation?

ALL of these symptoms can present together or alone and can be indicators of an “over-recruited” pelvic floor.

What does that mean?

Your pelvic floor muscles in organic pink. The magenta signify from top to bottom, your rectum, uterus and urethra attached to your bladder) Image used with permission from Pelvic Guru.

Well, basically it means that the muscles of your pelvic floor are working too hard, too often or in an imbalanced manner.
This can be due to breathing habits, nervous system stress, inflammation in the body, movement mechanics, and other stressors.

In a sense, your pelvic floor is lifted, tight, tense and it needs to relax.

In fact, your pelvic floor needs to relax and recruit, move UP and DOWN like a trampoline, all day long everyday.

That’s called “moving through its full range of motion”.

When it can’t relax, insertion of anything (tampon, etc.) will be painful.

There is also a persistent tugging on the tailbone/sacrum that can start as pain during sitting and then radiate all the way down the lef.

Elimination is also difficult. The pelvic floor needs to relax in order for stool to exit the rectum.
Without that routine relaxation that makes regularity happen, stool hangs around, becomes dry and more difficult to excrete.

I know. I know. You’ve been told that a “tight” vagina is a good thing, “strong” pelvic floors are better for sex and for not peeing your pants.

But the truth is that supple, responsive, pelvic floors that move their their full ranges of motion (recruit AND relax) are what you want for good sex, strong bodies and insurance against incontinence.

Why it’s time to take action!

Let’s be real here.
If you are dealing with ANY of the above listed symptoms, your quality of life isn’t what it could be.


I’ve worked with MANY women that shy away from becoming intimate with their spouses because they just can’t seem to enjoy sex.
They often blame themselves or on occasion, their partner’s inability to make sex enjoyable.
But either way they are avoiding sex because let’s face it, it stinks.
Which puts that aspect of the relationship in an awkward place.
I mean enjoyable sex and sustainable intimate relationships HAVE to be based on a “give and take” system.
White knuckling it and tolerating sex just to get through it even though it’s really uncomfortable and not enjoyable is just one giant problematic elephant in the room.


I also have clients that find sex can be incredibly painful and uncomfortable due to constipation.
Gas, bloating, and discomfort that is associated with constipation or sluggish elimination causes us to lose confidence in our bodies and not wish to be touched in any way.

But EVEN if you can push all that suffering aside, the truth of the matter is that your ENTIRE body relies on a healthy pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor is the BASE of your torso.
It stabilizes that body all day long every day and impacts the health of everything from your neck to your ankles.
Think of your house or apartment.
If you found out that the foundation was over-stressed and incapable of it’s job of supporting everything above, would you feel confident and safe?
Would you continue to invest in the house by say remodeling your kitchen, when you knew at any time you could have MAJOR support and balance problems?

The longer pelvic floor problems persist the more likely it is that you will begin to experience problems up and downstream from them.
Shoulder injuries, foot pain, ankle and knee issues can ALL stem from a torso that’s struggling to move and stabilize well, which stems from a pelvic floor that ain’t going its job.

What to do if this is you?

Step 1. See a pelvic floor physical therapist.
This is a type of PT that specializes in muscles of the pelvic floor.
She will evaluate your hip and glute strength, check your posture to help you understand some possible reasons why your pelvic floor is working overtime.
She can also manually release those tight muscles to give you instant relief.
You can search for one local to you here.

No access to a PT?
Check out this program!

Step 2. Watch this video to learn more about why you may be over-recruiting your pelvic floor!

Step 3. Take action and begin to change your breathing and movement mechanics.
The BEST way to start down-training and relaxing your pelvic floor is with your BREATH!

Breathing deeply with the diaphragm will:

• calm your nervous system

• begin to relax your pelvic floor while moving it through its full range of motion

• increase your core strength so your pelvic floor isn’t doing all the work..
  
  I know that breathing seems soooo simple and you may thing that it’s not enough action to make big change and impact your pain/
  But you’ve GOT to TRY IT!:

  
  Set an alert on your phone and spend 3-5 minutes practicing your diaphragmatic breathing 3 times a day and take note of your symptoms.
  For you focusing on the INHALE/ RELAX part of the breathing cycle will be ESPECIALLY important.
  
  
  Don’t know how to breath with the diaphragm?
  Click here! To Grab my Breathing For Pelvic Health Jump Start Guide to start TODAY!!!

 About Sarah…

Sarah Smith is a Functional Pelvic and Gut Health Educator Level, Strength Coach, Original Strength Pro, Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Instructor and postnatal fitness specialist and functional pelvic floor and with a Masters in Soil Science and Agriculture.

She helps women feel confident, capable, content and STRONG in their bodies!

Sarah is a published author and has a decade experience conducting research at The National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, University of Arizona and North Carolina State University.

She uses evidence-based strategies to help her clients grow strong, and conquer their pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, diastasis recti and gut health complications and other injuries or health conditions. 

Sarah is a mom to three wild boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves kettlebells, leisure walks, chickens, soil, coffee, not folding laundry and watching people move-in a non-creepy way.

Three ways the gut impacts the health of your pelvic floor.

✅Tissue regeneration-your cells are dying and regrowing all of the time.
Without adequate nutrient uptake, they don’t have the necessary building blocks to build the best new tissue possible, the muscle tissue that makes up your pelvic floor, core AND your biceps!

Nutrition matters, we know that, but a diversely populated gut microbiome that is adept at processing your food and helping you extract the nutrition from it while keeping food particles from getting into the the blood stream via leaky holes in your intestines is also key!

✅Inflammation-can occur for LOTS of reasons.

It can be a response to those food particles and other toxins leaking out of the gut into your blood stream where they are attached by the immune system leading to a chronic state of inflammation..

It can also become a consistent state that occurs because one of the chief jobs of your gut bugs is to help clear oxidative stress-a normal outcome of chemical reactions taking place in the body...

But if they ain’t there or they aren’t healthy and numerous, they can’t clear the stress and BOOM we got inflammation 🔥🔥🔥

And this inflammation doesn’t just stay in the gut my friends, it can be in the brain, the joints, the pelvic tissues...

✅Elimination

You know, like how and how often you poop?

THIS is mediated by the bugs in your gut as well!

They have NUMEROUS jobs that help to make your stool the right consistency for it to EXIT consistently.
You need fiber to poop well not just because it adds bulk to your stool, but because the microbes that are process and package your poop up to exit the body LIVE on fiber.
But when you have a compromised gut microbiome, eating foods high in fiber leads to bloating, cramping and LOTS of discomfort.


Without the bugs and their food source we can find ourselves in vicious cycles of diarrhea AND constipation or just constipation/dry, hard, difficult to eliminate stools

Constipation is a HUGE problem for both folks with #pelvicfloordysfunction and #pelvicorganprolapse.
In fact in my experience, my clients with an over recruited #pelvicfloor, aka #pfd, both constipation and inflammation are an issue.

Any of my clients with #prolapse, particularly, rectoceol, are WAY more symptomatic when they are constipated due to that extra pressure and straining or the presence of old expired estrogen and toxins that are being resorbed instead of exiting in their stool.

The gut is SOOOO important for our health and the health of our pelvic floors, don’t leave it behind when working to improve your pelvic health!

Listen to my podcast on how your GUT work and what you can do to care for it by clicking here AND use the search function to read the other articles here on gut health and pelvic health!

Prolapse symptom increase, WHAT TO DO??!!

Increase in prolapse symptoms? 

Don’t freak out!!!

Read this.

Hey there!

I know ALL TOO WELL how frustrating and fear-inducing an increase in prolapse symptoms can be. 

“Did I make it worse?”

“Are my organs going to fall out”

“What was I doing wrong?” 

are ALL questions that have crossed my mind MANY times. 

What I’ve learned over the years is that:

1. Increase in symptoms does NOT necessarily mean a worsening of your prolapse.

2. An increase in symptoms can teach us something about our bodies. 

3. Sometimes it’s nothing and it passes with no good explanation.

my tips for dealing with an increase in prolapse symptoms!

Check your pelvic floor tension. 

If you have prolapse, chances are good that you have a history of not recruiting your pelvic floor enough, so I know it’s difficult to imagine, but you actually might be OVER-RECRUITING your PF. 

Before you are convinced that your prolapse is getting worse, either see your pelvic floor PT and have her check your pelvic floor muscles, MAYBE do some internal release of those muscles, or if you know how, use your thera wand to do it yourself. 

Here’s a video on that.

Pay attention to your bowel movements AND if you’re still menstruating, your menstrual cycle.

Even if you’ve been having regular bowel movements, are you sure that everything is coming out?
There have been times when after I use the Thera-wand for some release or some Moxibustion (that I ordered through my acupuncturist), a lot of waste, that apparently was hanging around for too long comes out and I have felt to much better!

Other times, a build up of gas from controversial foods or too much fiber has made everythgin feel swollen and uncomfortable for both me and my clients .
So there’s that too. 

When our period is approaching, peristalsis (contractions that move your food waste through your intestines) can slow down which can result in constipation for some women, not to mention that our hormones during ovulation or right before menstruation can ALSO make us more symptomatic. 

Check your digestion and check your calendar to see where you are in your cycle. 

It absolutely could be that!

What about your stress/breathing and movement lately?

It is NOT uncommon for many of us Type A personalities (Hi!) to process our stress by clenching our bellies, tucking our tailbones or tightening our pelvic floors. 
When is the last time you took some time for you and breathed with your diaphragm?

When I start feeling like this-and it happens often, so I’m better at recognizing it, I do some Original Strength resets, PARTICULARLY rocking and rolling because they are such SOOTHING movements. 

I also focus on my breath-more on that here. 

I may even do some belly massage. 

And what about your alignment and movement?

Check those ribs. Are they down? 

Is your pelvic position mostly neutral?

Are you focusing on your inhale/relax your PF and intently as you do your exhale/lift?
If you’re like, “What is she talking about?” or “I need help with this!” grab my freebie on the topic: here.

And then there are always a WHOLE host of other things you can explore with respect to diet, liver health, sleep and more!

If you want to learn about THAT, check out my upcoming Gut Health for Pelvic Health course!!!

The bottom line?

Once you have prolapse, you always have prolapse.
It’s a vulnerability in your body and mine.
Your prolapse may become symptom-free, undetectable and you may never notice it.
Perhaps your symptoms come and go randomly, or it may be that it persists, but you learn lots of ways to manage it.

The reality is that there’s a LOT about the body, hormones, inflammation, muscles, ligaments and the nervous system that we are still learning, so while there may not be a perfectly OBVIOUS cause and effect relationship between your symptoms and something else that is taking place in and around your body right now, we may one day soon discover MORE branches of the body and lifestyle that impact prolapse symptoms.
In the meantime, if you experience and increase in symptoms, try my recommendations above, do the things that typically make you feel best and give is a little bit of time.
These things happen sometimes.

Managing prolapse is LARGELY a mental process, but I’m here to HELP you!!
Amiright??!!

Before you freak out that this is your new normal, throw in a pessary-if you have one, to give you an extra lift, make an appointment with your PT to get checked and go do something that makes you HAPPY!

Sarah Smith is on a mission to help women conquer their pelvic health struggles and build STRENGTH and SKILLS!
She is a strength coach, RKC2 Kettlebell Instructor, Original Strength Pro Instructor, certified personal trainer, postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Soil and Agricultural Science.
Sarah works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
She is a Believer, wife to her best friend, Jeremiah, a mom to three boys and one English Bulldog.
She loves soil, coffee and not folding laundry. 
Come follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

Microbiology, diarrhea, constipation, the pelvic floor and whole body strength: Things you have to know about getting stronger!

Greetings from snowy Raleigh, North Carolina!

We woke up to a wintery wonderland this morning and while this former New Englander isn't a huge fan of wintery weather, I secretly think the snow today is rather beautiful. 
 

This winter I've been taking more time to write. 
In fact, I'm going back to my microbiology roots and talking about the gut microbiome and its influence on metabolism and whole body strength. 
My new project is called "Strong butts and guts: increasing whole body strength with microbiology and natural daily movement"...or something like that..

For those of you that don't know, before I was a trainer, I worked in microbiology, first on the health front at the National Institutes of Health, then as environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona and finally finished with a masters in soil and agricultural science at North Carolina State University. 
I. LOVE. MICROBES. 

My husband has been a pest management professional  and self-proclaimed "bug geek" for close to 15 years now and the other day I realized,
"Oh my goodness, I'm totally a bug geek too!" 
Just a different kind of bug....the microscopic kind!

The amazing thing is that I never ever ever would have thought that my love for microbiology would be SO RELATED to my job as a trainer and lifestyle coach. 

But we are learning more every day about the far-reaching influence of the trillions of microbes that live in our gastrointestinal system (the gut). 

Nutrient absorption, to metabolic regulation, cravings, energy, sleep, muscle synthesis, hormonal regulation (very important for both metabolism and building lean muscle) the gut is an INTEGRAL part of all of these functions of the body. 
 

One of the biggest issues that we are facing in modern life is that lack of movement, little time outdoors and the Standard American Diet are all killing the ancestral strains of microbes that have been evolving with us since the beginning. 
These strains are designed to keep us alive and well and fully functioning, because we are engaged in a symbiotic relationship that is mutually beneficial!

They keep our bodies running like a top, we provide them with a safe place to live, aka, food and shelter. 

BUT these strains of bacteria (many of which derived from the soil, we inoculated ourselves by being outside and eating foods that were grown in the dirt) are not happy. 
In fact, they are dead (or close to it) in many a gut!

Herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, many prescription medications, loads of processed sugar, food additives (like guar and xanthan gums), and artificial sweeteners (Splenda!) are killing off the good guys (dubbed "Gut Guardians" by Dr. Grace Liu) in our gut microbiome,  and leaving room for nasty ones that historically were kept in check by the guardians. 


Consequently we are seeing more and more food sensitivities,  autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel syndromes and diseases (which by the way are symptoms, not medical conditions), chronic fatigue, inefficient metabolisms, mental emotional health conditions....and the list goes on. 

 

My interest was peaked when I realized that the pelvic floor is strongly impacted by the gut, makes perfect sense since they are neighbors!

So I have launched a whole research project into better understanding how our lifestyle, and nutrition habits are impacting our guts and how our guts are impacting our abilities to build strong bodies!

AND logically, I'm writing an ebook on the topic. 

I'm not totally out of depth here, I am a published author in a bunch of other super obscure topics (look to the right!)
But never have I ever written something about which I feel so much passion. 

So, e-book is coming. 
As part of my Inner Circle you will be learning about how your gut is impacting your body and ways to get it on board with you and your personal goals. 

Today I am sharing a link to a recent blogpost that I wrote on the interactions between the gut and the pelvic floor. 
 

It's written to coaches and trainers, and I know that some of you are that!
BUT it's about all of us, so don't skip it if you don't work in fitness. 
YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS STUFF in order to protect yourself and possibly even get to the bottom of some chronic health issues that you've been ignoring!

The post is mostly about diarrhea, constipation, bloating and how irregular digestion is negatively impacting our pelvic floor, potentially causing pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence of ALL kinds. 

I'd love for you to check it out here and leave comments!

This effects us all!