Better Pelvic Floor Habits

Feb 04, 2024

Have you put much thought into going to the bathroom? Or do you just go when you need to. If you're lucky- you haven't really thought about it. But if you're here reading this- I'd guess you have, and you may have some bladder or bowel issues coming up. Its frustrating when going to the bathroom takes up more space in your brain and interferes with your daily life. Whether its constipation, leaking, or painful bowel movements- there is help available.

There are issues I treat in the clinic daily. It's common- but it definitely is not normal and you don't have to suffer in silence. The state of your pelvic floor can affect these issues, so I'm here to tell you about which habits are helping you and which...are not.

Lets get started working on your pelvic floor habits

Normal Frequency:

A healthy bladder should be urging you to urinate every 2-4 hours which comes out to 5-7 times a day. Peeing should come come along with leaking, burning or stinging sensations.

One bowel movement per day is normal. Whether you’re passing urine or stool, you shouldn’t need to strain.

You also should not have to wipe #2 more than 2x after a bowel movement, this is called fecal smearing. It's when you wipe and wipe and there still seems to be stool left over on the paper towel. It can indicate constipation, and usually is present in patients who have less than one bowel movement per day. It may also indicate poor rectal muscle tone.

Habits to Break

1. Blowing your nose on the toilet

Blowing your nose causes additional stress and pressure on the pelvic floor. When you’re sitting on a toilet, your pelvic floor is in a vulnerable and relaxed state, without any support underneath it. These muscles need to be relaxed to allow stool and urine to flow. However, when you reach for the tissues, the additional stress of blowing your nose on the toilet can cause more pressure on your pelvic floor than it can handle. Too much pelvic floor pressure can lead to a host of issues, including pelvic organ prolapse, hemorrhoids, and other dysfunctions that come from poor intra-abdominal pressure management.

The fix: Thankfully, this one’s easy: stop blowing your nose on the toilet! If you absolutely can’t wait to stand up or leave the bathroom first, then only blow after you’ve finished peeing or pooping, gently lifting your pelvic floor up and in as you blow.

2. Doing the "just in case" pee.

Have you ever peed before leaving the house before going to work or doing errands just....because? So many of us have picked up this habit, but it actually trains our bladders to empty before they give signals to our brains that they need to be emptied. Our bladders should hold 500ml of urine. Every time you pee "just in case" you lower that threshold. You may be emptying your bladder before you even reach the 200-350ml mark, training the nerves in your bladder to signal to your brain to empty your bladder earlier and earlier. “Just in case” peeing leads to an overactive bladder and urge incontinence. Remember, 5-8 times per day is plenty for a healthy bladder.

The fix: If you have trained your bladder to feel the urgency to empty every time you leave the house or walk in the door, you’ll have to retrain it — along with your brain. Stop doing the extra peepee dance, and just follow your urges.

3. Don't pee like a racehorse

When you urinate, your pelvic floor muscles should relax to open the urethral sphincter and allow urine to pass. This happens naturally — you don’t need to push out your urine. When you do, you are increasing pressure on your pelvic floor (just like blowing your nose above), which can lead to the same issues.

The fix: Try taking some big diaphragmatic breaths as you pee, allowing the urine to simply flow. This is a habit that might take time to correct, so just be mindful of whether you’re pushing or not whenever you sit down to go to the bathroom.

4. Stop holding in your poop

It’s not always convenient to go to the bathroom, I know, but “holding it in” is one of the leading causes of constipation. The hierarchy of bladder/bowel health should be bowels, you, bladder – meaning your bowels control you, but you control your bladder. When you feel like it’s time to poop, go!

The fix: Respect the hierarchy. This means when you feel the urge to poop, don’t wait longer than 5 minutes to get yourself to the bathroom if at all possible. You don’t want to cause constipation from holding it in.

Do not strain or hold your breath while pooping

As you’re probably realizing, many of our bad bathroom habits lead to the same issues. Holding your breath or straining excessively when passing stool can cause increased pressure on your pelvic floor, much like power peeing or blowing your nose.

The fix: If you feel like you need to bear down to pass stool, inhale and then exhale as you bear down gently. Otherwise, simply diaphragmatically breathe and let it occur naturally. If you’re having difficulty pooping without strain, try using a squatty potty to better align the rectum for easier passage of stool.

You're not too busy to pee! Don't hold it in all day

This is the opposite of “just in case” peeing — instead of going when you don’t need to go, you don’t go when you should! I typically see this with teachers or medical providers, who will hold in their bladder all day or avoid drinking water at work. Holding back urine for longer than 2-3 hours (or not hydrating properly) can lead to UTIs, which you definitely want to avoid.

The fix: Try to prioritize peeing every 2-3 hours, whenever you feel the need, to avoid potential leakage from a bladder that is too full. And remember to stay hydrated, even on the job!

7. Scrolling on the toilet foreverrrrrr

This is a habit a lot of parents find themselves doing, because it’s their only time alone without a toddler pulling on their pants leg or asking a thousand questions. But once again, sitting on the toilet puts your pelvic floor in a vulnerable and relaxed state, which can cause dysfunction over time. Sitting too long on the toilet also causes increased pressure on your rectum and anus, which can contribute to hemorrhoids.

The fix: This one might be the simplest of all: get up when you’re done in the bathroom! If you need to stand by the sink and watch videos on your phone for a few, have at it. But try not to increase the pressure on your pelvic floor while you decrease other stressors.

Just sit on the public toilet

I get it: you don’t want to sit directly on a public toilet seat. But when you squat, your pelvic floor muscles can’t fully relax to allow the healthy passage of urine. This leads to excessive pressure on the pelvic floor and can even lead to an uneven stream (and no one wants pee dripping down their leg!) because maybe one side of the pelvic relaxed, but not the other.

The fix: Sit fully on the toilet, but cover the seat with toilet paper beforehand if you want to avoid germs! Allow your pelvic floor to relax, and take deep breaths to further relax it as you pee.

Your healthiest pelvic floor yet

These tips will help you practice good bathroom habits and give you a healthier pelvic floor, which pays off big time outside the bathroom too! Reducing or eliminating bladder and bowel dysfunction symptoms improves your whole quality of life — and that’s what I want for every in-person patient and every blog reader alike.

If these at-home tips and tricks don’t resolve the problem, book a call with me. I can help you by diagnosing and treating bladder and bowel problems, and I would love to help you find some relief. I hope you enjoy the benefits of a healthier pelvic floor very soon!