Hi friends! Can you believe that it is now 2025? With the new year often comes New Year’s Resolutions. Resolutions can be so many different things. They can be focused on health, careers, relationships, or anything else you can think of! Resolutions may be things we want to stop doing, or new things we want to incorporate into our lives. This year, we challenge you to make sure you’re following these five rules as part of your new year to help your pelvic floor stay happy and healthy!
#1 Don’t pee just in case
We’re probably all guilty at one time or another of going just because we are leaving the house, or any other “just because” reason. When we try to go pee “just in case”, we can teach our bladder to have to go more frequently. If this is done over long periods of time, it can lead to urinary urgency and leakage (Siracusa, 2018).
Now that’s not to say you should never go pee before leaving the house, but if you catch yourself going “just in case” ask yourself two questions: How long has it been since the last time I went pee? (Ideally we should pee every 2-5 hours) and When will I have another opportunity to pee? If you just went and/or you will have an opportunity to go again soon try not to go pee. However, if it’s been a while since you went and you know you aren’t going to have access to another bathroom for a while, it would be more appropriate to go.
#2 Don’t strain while on the toilet
Straining and holding our breath while trying to pee or poop puts extra pressure on the pelvic floor muscles and can make it harder to get things out. Not only is straining hard on the pelvic floor muscles but it can cause us to use the Valsalva maneuver—which could make you pass out! Instead of straining open your mouth, take a breath, and say “Grrr.” This will help to relax the pelvic floor muscles to allow pee or poop to exit.
#3 Stay hydrated
Most of us would benefit from drinking more water, but the amount of water we should drink depends on so many different factors like our activity level, the climate we live in, the medications we take, the health conditions we have, and the foods we eat. According to Harvard Health, for healthy people six cups (48 ounces) is generally a good rule, but it is recommended to ask your healthcare providers how much you should drink. Most people would benefit from drinking even more than 48 ounces per day. Remember when drinking, try to drink small amounts consistently throughout the day to allow our bodies to use the water as we drink it. If we drink large amounts at once, our bodies will flush this out in our urine and often make us need to pee more.
#4 Stay Active
Exercise and activity are not just good for the pelvic floor but they are good for our overall health and wellness. Exercise has been shown to improve mood and decrease anxiety (Smith, 2021). Exercise has also been shown to help prevent or treat many medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes (Kanaley, 2022; Tucker, 2022; Howe, 2011).
Individuals that exercise generally have stronger and larger pelvic floor muscles compared to those that do not exercise (Bo, 2020). With that said, exercise can place pressure on the pelvic floor muscles and cause symptoms like pelvic pressure/heaviness or urinary leakage. If this is happening to you, seek help from a pelvic floor physical therapist or occupational therapist. Avoiding exercise often makes symptoms worse. To learn more about exercise and the pelvic floor muscles read here.
Be sure to talk with your healthcare providers before starting any new exercise programs.
#5 Be Kind to Yourself
Let’s be honest, life can be stressful! Studies have shown that stress and fear can often cause the pelvic floor muscles to become tight and overactive. (Bo, 2015) When we are scared or feel defensive, we often get an involuntary contraction of our pelvic floor muscles which can cause pain or difficulty with penetration. (Bo 2015, van der Velde 2001) Tight pelvic floor muscles aren’t able to work the way they should. Imagine grasping your hand into a tight fist and holding it—it would be hard to use your hand the way it was designed to work!
Commit to taking care of yourself this year--whether that means seeing a mental health therapist, meditating, having quiet time, or whatever else you need. Less stress will help the pelvic floor muscles work well.
We hope 2025 is a happy and healthy year for you and all of your loved ones!
To learn more about your pelvic floor muscles, check out these great resources:
Watch our Pelvic Physical Therapy YouTube playlist
Find a pelvic floor physical or occupational therapist near you at www.mypfm.com/find-a-pt
Learn more about your pelvic floor on our Instagram
Visit our Amazon store for our favorite pelvic health products
Sign up for our email newsletter
For providers, check out myPFM Academy to learn more so you can better help your clients. With two membership options, you have access to courses, a growing library of patient handouts, hundreds of custom sharable images and infographics, and multilingual resources. At myPFM Academy you’ll find courses like:
Dry Needling and Pelvic Health: Innovative Techniques for Optimal Clinical Outcomes with Dr. Kelly Sammis, PT, OCS, CLT, A-FONS, PCES
Pelvic Health Foundations: Intersection of Orthopedics and the Pelvic Floor with Dr. Stephanie Lewis, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT
Written by Emily Reul, PT, DPT
References
Bo K, Berghmans B, Morkved S, Van Kampen M. Evidenced-based physical therapy for the pelvic floor bridging science and clinical practice. 2nd edition. 2015.
Bo K, Nygaard IE. Is physical activity good or bad for the female pelvic floor? A narrative review. Sports Med.2020;50(3):471-484.
Howe TE et al. Exercise for preventing and treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Chcorane Database Syst Rev. 2011;(7):CD000333.
Kanaley JA et al. Exercise/physical activity in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a consensus statement from the American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2022;54(2):353-368.
LeWine HE. How much water should you drink? Harvard Health Publishing website. Published May 22, 2023. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink.
Siracusa C et. al. Pelvic health physical therapy level 1. APTA section on women’s health. 2018.
Smith PJ, Merwin RM. The role of exercise in management of mental health disorders: an integrative review. Annu Rev Med. 2021;72:45-62.
Tucker at al. Exercise for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: JACC focus seminar 1/4. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;80(11):1091-1106.
van der Velde J, Everaerd W. The relationship between involuntary pelvic floor muscle activity, muscle awareness and experienced threat in women with and without vaginismus. Behav Res Ther. 2001 Apr;39(4):395-408. doi: 10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00007-3.