It’s the holiday season! It is time to get together with loved ones and have a good time. It is that time of year when you can cozy up in a blanket and enjoy a hot beverage while watching your favorite holiday movie. Unfortunately, with all the good that comes during the holiday season, often comes stress for many people. This extra stress can cause anxiety, fatigue, headaches, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, and aches and pains such as neck pain or muscle aches. Increased stress can also have a negative impact on your pelvic floor muscles!
Stress causes us to tighten many of our muscles including the pelvic floor reflexively. The pelvic floor muscles are important for stability, regulating abdominal pressure, balance, bladder, bowel, and sexual functions. Tightness in the pelvic floor can cause pain in the pelvis, groin, tailbone, and hips. It can also contribute to lower back pain. This tightening can also cause other issues such as urine or fecal matter leakage, constipation, urgency, difficulty emptying your bowels or bladder, or even sexual dysfunctions such as arousal disorders. How can this be prevented? The most simple answer is — to relax.
Relaxing is not as easy to do as one might think, especially during the holiday season, so taking care of your muscles and pelvic floor may be more difficult. We can help you with pelvic exercises. However, even just 10 minutes a day can be very beneficial. Take some time to “tune in” to your body, find where you’re tightening your muscles, and focus on small, slow, gentle movements or stretches to help relax those muscles. Diaphragmatic breathing or yoga breathing exercises can be helpful with relaxing the pelvic floor muscles, as can a child’s pose stretch if you’re able.
Do your best to be aware of your body this holiday season! Remember, little things like breathing exercises or gentle stretching are better than nothing and can go a long way in keeping your body and pelvic floor healthy this season!
Happy Holidays!
