Preventative Health Care – one pill cures all!
There’s a new medicine for preventing heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, incontinence, dementia, obesity, depression, chronic pain.. and all you need to do is take a little of it every day! The remedy is exercise. Yes, there is now great research to back up all these claims and it's something we can do at no cost - take a daily exercise "pill"!
What's the problem?
The recent Position Statement from the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine says that physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for sickness and death. Yes, sitting down is killing us! The report goes on to say that most Canadian doctors don’t advise on, or prescribe, exercise to their patients. Unfortunately, I don't think that it is very different in Australia.
But there is a wealth of evidence now about what we can do to improve our health. EXERCISE is the medicine that can reduce our risk of getting all of these chronic diseases. Exercise also improves chronic pain! We can actually change our physiology with exercise so that our body fights pain. Can it be that exercise can do all that? Yes it can! And it doesn't take long to start making a difference.
The Australian recommendations are for 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per week. That is 30 minutes five days a week. Everyone is different, so starting with something on a regular basis will set up some healthy habits. You can build up from there at your own pace. Once you get started, the “happy hormones” (endorphins) kick in and you will start to love the feeling you get from exercising and being fitter.
What has this got to do with the pelvic floor?
A fit and healthy body will mean that your pelvic floor muscles have the best chance of being fit and healthy too. People who are overweight will have more trouble with their pelvic floor and are more likely to leak urine or develop a prolapse. People who are sedentary will have weaker pelvic muscles inside and outside the pelvis. Lack of exercise can lead to constipation and straining, putting pressure on the pelvic floor. But daily exercise helps the bowels to work regularly and easily.
Pelvic floor exercises - prevention for pelvic floor problems
We have known for some time that doing pelvic floor exercises in pregnancy helps to prevent urinary incontinence after delivery of a baby. We now have new research showing that training the pelvic floor muscles prevents the development of pelvic organ prolapse in women. That’s very good news as pelvic organ prolapse may require surgery if it becomes too advanced. At Flex Clinic, we value fitness and can help you to take the first steps to improve your general fitness and the fitness of your pelvic floor muscles. We will help you stay on track as you reap the benefits of your fitness programs.