The Anti Kegel Diet

Guest post by OMC member Allison Feldt, of  Body Motion Physical Therapy

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Are You Fed Up With Peeing Your Pants? At Your Wits End With Leaking When You Laugh Or Jump Or Cough?

I hear so often that “I thought surgery was my only option”. I had a new client say this to me just last week. She really just wanted to get surgery so she could get a “quick fix and just be done with it” but she couldn’t commit to the recovery time and her family and work needs are too much that recovering from surgery was out of the question right now.

So when we had her Initial Evaluation I explained that she must STOP DOING KEGELS!

She couldn’t quite wrap her head around that idea. Most women are taught that the only way to strengthen your Pelvic Floor is to do Kegels, but what we need to understand is that the pelvic floor is a dynamic muscle and needs to be able to relax, contract and bulge or extend.

Imagine if you wanted to grow your bicep but you always kept your arm contracted and just never extended it… that muscle would atrophy it would lack blood flow and the muscle would actually become very weak. That’s exactly what happens when you only do Kegels.

Many of our patients are put on an Anti Kegel Diet, that way they can regain coordination of their Pelvic Floor muscles and learn to contract; to stop the flow of urine, relax; the state it should be in the majority of time, and bulge; what needs to happen during birth. I often compare a hypertonic pelvic floor to beef jerky, it’s a dehydrated muscle that lacks strength and the limited blood flow creates larger issues.

You can follow Allison to learn more about pelvic floor health on Instagram, and check out her online course + book inside the Om Mama Co. Shop! Allison’s wise words are also included in the Om Mama Co. Pelvic Floor Bundle!