Hip health & pelvic floor function: Unlocking the connection
Your hip & pelvic floor relationship
The pelvic floor muscles are located inside your pelvis (between your pubic bone and tailbone) and play a role in core support, bladder function, bowel function, and sexual function. When pelvic floor dysfunction arises, people experience any or all of the following:
Urinary urgency/frequency
Urinary leakage
Fecal leakage
Constipation
Pelvic pain
Pelvic organ prolapse
Sexual dysfunction
The hip is a very strong joint, located at the sides of the pelvis and functions to move your leg but also is a key stabilizer to your pelvis. As you can see in the diagram below, both the pelvic floor and hip are very close in proximity to one another. In fact, they share some structures. This is super important!
Why you should pay attention to your hips
Given this close relationship between the hips and pelvic floor muscles, we know that what happens with the hip impacts the pelvic floor, and vice versa. For example, many people who experience ongoing hip pain, without improvement via traditional PT, find that their hip pain is at least in-part referring from their pelvic floor muscles.
📚 In 2021, there was a study done that compared hip strength and pelvic floor strength among women with and without urinary urgency/frequency. Findings revealed that women with urinary urgency/frequency had more hip weakness, but the same strength of their pelvic floor muscles.
Bottom line is that the pelvic floor doesn’t work in isolation and the hip is super important for pelvic floor health and function. So now let’s dive into what you need to know about your hips?…
The importance of mobility
Knowing that a healthy hip is important for your pelvic floor functioning, it isn’t a surprise that hip mobility is essential! If you feel tightness or limitation at your hip when trying to do a deep squat, I’m talking to you. If you struggle with pinching in the hip joint when getting up from a low chair, this also pertains to you.
We quite often see that those with hip stiffness also suffer from pelvic floor muscle tension. This tension creates trouble relaxing and contracting your muscles which then lead to any/off of the symptoms above. Here are a few exercises we use often in the clinic to increase hip mobility:
Windshield wipers
Pendulum swings
Hands and knees rocking
Hip mobilization with strap
These were demonstrated in one of our recent social media posts here 👇
Why strengthening matters
As we mentioned above, your hips act as the primary stabilizers for your pelvis for mobility. They need to be strong and stable in order to support your pelvis and allow the pelvic floor muscles to relax and not overwork. We did a post about this on IG which you can access here. When we say “hip strengthening,” we’re specifically referring to your glute muscles and the smaller muscles deep in the hip that help rotate your hip. Below are a few strengthening exercises that you may consider and here are some of them demonstrated on an IG post! Note, that each of these can be modified in many ways and working with a trained professional to find the right intensity and modification for you is highly recommended.
Squats
Bridges/Hip Thrusts
Bulgarian split squats
Airplanes
Various planks
Single leg balance
Walking with a resistance band
Lateral hip presses into wall with a ball
What you can do next
Start to look at your hips and evaluate if they feel tight or weak (or both!), whether it be with daily activities or exercising.
See a pelvic floor therapist for an individualized evaluation and treatment plan that’s right for you.
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