Can Weight Lifting Cause Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
If you’ve ever leaked or felt pressure “down there” during a heavy squat or deadlift or wondered if weight lifting is causing pelvic floor dysfunction, you’re not alone!
This is a question we hear all the time from athletes in Oconomowoc. The answer? Not necessarily! The better answer? It’s less about whether you’re weight lifting or not and much more about HOW you lift. Let’s break this down!
Weight Lifting is Actually One of the Best Things You Can Do!
First, let’s clear up a common myth: weight lifting is NOT bad for your pelvic floor.
In fact, strength training is one of the best things you can do for your body, including your pelvic floor!
Whether you’re chasing toddlers, training for a race or competition, playing pickleball, or simply trying to stay active as you age, your pelvic floor NEEDS a strong support system around it.
Your pelvic floor muscles work hand-in-hand with your:
- Abs
- Hips
- Glutes
- Legs
- Back
- Diaphragm
If any of those muscles aren’t pulling their weight (pun intended), your pelvic floor will often compensate. That can lead to an overworked, angry pelvic floor.
This becomes even more important after having kids and during perimenopause, when hormonal changes and normal aging can make maintaining muscle mass even more vital. Staying strong can be a proactive way to avoid incontinence, aches and pains, and to keep us moving well and doing all the activities we want to be doing.
It’s All About Weight Lifting Well to Avoid Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Here is where things get a little more complicated. Two women can squat the exact same weight. One feels great afterwards! The other leaves the workout feeling pelvic heaviness, pain, and has pee-soaked leggings.
Why?
Often, it comes down to technique, breathing, and pressure management.
Good lifting form matters for every joint and muscle in your body. But when it comes to the pelvic floor, how you breathe and brace is just as important as where your knees and back are positioned.
Your Core is a Team Sport
Think of your core as a soda can.
- Your diaphragm is the top.
- Your pelvic floor is the bottom.
- Your deep stabilizing abs are the front.
- Your deep stabilizing back muscles are the back.
All of these muscles should work together to manage core pressure every time we lift. A well-functioning core is like an unopened soda can – strong, stable, hard to crush. If one of these muscles is not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, it can cause a lot of dysfunction elsewhere. It’s like taking that soda can and opening it. An opened soda can is much more easy to crush.
Over time, poor pressure management can contribute to:
- Leaking
- Pelvic heaviness or pressure
- Pain in your hips, tailbone, back, or pelvis
Are You Bracing Correctly?
Pay attention to what it feels like as you brace the next time you do a heavy squat or deadlift.
- Do you push out?
- Suck in?
- Bear down?
A good brace should feel like a tensing in your abs and a zipping up feeling. Your belly should flatten and your belly button should slightly rise. Here’s a video of what that should look like.
If you push out or bear down, this is NOT bracing correctly. That places a lot of extra downward pressure onto your pelvic floor. Over time this type of incorrect bracing during weight lifting can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction.
Breathing Matters More Than You Think
Your breathing DIRECTLY affects your pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor moves with your diaphragm every time you breathe (…if you’re doing it correctly).
- Inhale = diaphragm moves down and the pelvic floor moves down, lengthens, and relaxes
- Exhale = diaphragm moves up and the pelvic floor moves up and becomes active
The movement of these muscles together is one of the BIGGEST ways we manage our core pressure.
Pay attention to your breathing right now.
- Do your shoulders and chest move up and down?
- Does your belly move?
- Do you feel any movement in your ribcage?
If you are using your diaphragm correctly to breathe, you should feel very minimal movement in your shoulders and chest. You SHOULD feel movement in your belly and the sides of your ribcage like an umbrella opening and closing. Here’s a video explaining this 360 breathing technique.
Just changing up your breathing technique can make a HUGE and IMMEDIATE difference in pelvic floor symptoms when weight lifting!
What About Holding Your Breath?
Let’s talk about the elephant in the weight room. Holding your breath can create more stiffness in your core and help you lift heavier. If you have a well-functioning pelvic floor, this can be a great addition to your weight lifting!
However, breath holding during weight lifting can overwhelm a dysfunctional pelvic floor and lead to more symptoms. So if you’re using proper bracing and breathing techniques and are still experiencing leaking, heaviness, or pain during weight lifting, then it just means that your pelvic floor is not ready to add a breath hold YET.
So…Does Weight Lifting Cause Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
No! In fact, we want our clients lifting more, not less. Weight lifting is one of the best things you can do for your long-term pelvic floor health.
Incorrect bracing technique, poor pressure management, inefficient breathing, and lifting more than your pelvic floor is capable of are often the real culprits.
If you’re experiencing leaking, heaviness, or pain during weight lifting, this is just your body’s way of telling you that a few adjustments may need to be made:
- Improve your breathing technique
- Learn how to brace correctly
- Modify how much weight you are lifting temporarily to stay within your limits
- Build strength in the areas your body may be compensating for
The goal is to build strength while teaching your body to manage pressure well. This is what we do in pelvic floor physical therapy here in Oconomowoc! We can evaluate your breathing, bracing, and lifting, and identify what is contributing to your symptoms. The goal is always to help you do the things you love without leaking, heaviness, or pain. And if that includes picking up a barbell, we’re all for it!
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