Athletes come in all sizes, shapes and fields of practice.  But they all have one thing in common, they push their bodies to the limit and enjoy doing it!  Whether you are a runner, cyclist, gymnast, dancer, weight-lifter, cross Fit-er, basketball, soccer or tennis player – your body takes a beating!  Literally.  Granted, each sport poses its own effects on the body – but every sport has an impact.

 

Being a former gymnast, I understand the addiction to athletics.  There is something amazing that happens when you push your body to it’s limit and succeed in accomplishing that far off goal that you set in your mind. 

As athletes, we all understand the importance of core strength.  It is imperative for stability and to help prevent injury.  But most of us focus on the exterior muscles – but in reality every muscle plays a vital role in your core and there are many that are being neglected.  The pelvic floor is the base of support for the core, so while many of us tend to our rectus abdominis for that 6 pack, or external oblique’s to eliminate love handles, we are neglecting those Type I, slow twitch muscle fibers that account for anywhere between 50-70% of your midsection musculature.

 

These slow twitch fibers in your core are physiologically designed to maintain resting tome and provide your body with the resistance to gravity.  When they are neglected, several things happen.  Your pelvic floor which is the base, becomes unstable and cannot support the ongoing impact, which leads to issues such as incontinence, prolapse and overall discomfort.  Also, your ability to avoid injuries such as hernias and back injuries decreases.

 

Until recently there have not been many studies conducted on the pelvic floor health of women athletes.  Perhaps this is due to lack of discussion between athletes and their doctors or trainers.  However, this is changing.  They are now discovering that women participating in high impact sports show the greatest prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction.