What and where is your pelvic floor?

Your pelvic floor is a muscular and connective tissue ‘hammock’ that is diamond shaped. It runs from your pubic bones in front, out to your sitting bones either side then back in to your tail bone (coccyx). If you are female, there are three holes that pass through your pelvic floor (from front to back):

• The opening for your bladder (urethra)
• The opening for your vagina, and
• The opening for your bowel (anus).

Males only have two openings passing through their pelvic floor and don’t carry babies on top of theirs, so are therefore less prone to pelvic floor weakness. In fact, in a survey of 3010 Australians aged 15 – 97 years, only 4.4% of males reported urinary incontinence, while 35.3% of women surveyed reported suffering from the same complaint.

Role of the pelvic floor

Your pelvic floor is an amazing piece of equipment! It prevents your pelvic ‘bits and pieces’ (ovaries, uterus, bladder, bowel) from falling out, supports your bowel when you pass a bowel motion, along with your abdominal ‘core’ muscles, forms part of the muscular ‘brace’ that supports your spine, and contributes to sexual arousal and pleasure. If your pelvic floor becomes weak, this can lead to incontinence (loss of bladder and or bowel control) or prolapse (dropping or sagging of) your bladder, uterus and or bowel. According to an Australian study published in 2000, pregnancy, regardless of how you deliver your baby (caesarean, vaginal delivery), simply being pregnant and giving birth greatly increases the likelihood of incontinence and or prolapse later on. Other factors that make you more likely to have problems with your pelvic floor:

• Increasing age
• Being overweight
• Excess coughing
• Numerous pregnancies

When to have your pelvic floor assessed

Because your pelvic floor is mostly muscular, it can, like any other muscle become overused, strained or torn.  Your pelvic floor can also be a source of pain during the second and third trimesters if it is overused or strained from an uneven gait caused by an old ankle, knee or hip injury. If you feel this may be a problem for you, make an appointment with on of the osteopaths at williamstown osteopathy all of whom are experienced at working with pregnant women. A strong but elastic pelvic floor during pregnancy will go a long way in preparing you for a smoother vaginal delivery and recovery.

Exercises to strengthen pelvic floor:

There are two different types of muscle fibres in your pelvic floor. The first are slow twitch ‘endurance’ fibres that should be slightly switched on most of the time to hold your pelvic ‘bits and pieces’ in place. The second are fast twitch ‘power’ fibres that should be able to switch on quickly when you bend, sneeze, cough or laugh to prevent any ‘accidents’. And as there are two different types of fibres, there are two different types of exercises. They are:

Endurance fibres: Gently lift your pelvic floor about 1 cm and hold. You should be able to hold for at least 6 – 10 seconds.  Repeat up to 10 times or until you fatigue. Some ideas to make sure you’re actually lifting your pelvic floor:

• Imagine holding in a bowel motion
• Imagine holding a full bladder
• Imagine resisting against a tampon being pulled out

Power fibres: Quickly lift your pelvic floor as high as you can and release again straight way (don’t hold it). Repeat 10 – 20 times or until you fatigue. Rest for a couple of seconds in between each contraction.

DO NOT:

• Clench your glutes. Your glutes are NOT part of your pelvic floor.
• Hold your breath. You should be able to do your pelvic floor exercises while breathing.
• Squeeze your knees together. These muscles are also NOT part of your pelvic floor.

When to do pelvic floor exercises

Do the above exercises twice a day during your pregnancy. Vary the position you do the exercises in eg. when standing in line at the supermarket, sitting in the car, lying in bed. You should be able to switch on your pelvic floor exercises in any position.  You should always switch on your pelvic floor before and during a cough, sneeze or bend to prevent it from straining.

So for a healthy pelvic floor, remember your endurance and power exercises – twice a day and if you are experiencing pelvic pain or would like to have your pelvic floor assessed, see an osteopath who works with pregnant women.

Taken from http://bulbosteopathy.com.au/blog/

Can Osteoapthy help babies with plagiocephaly? (flat/altered head shape)

Most of us are not perfectly even, straight and round everywhere. Babies are the same.  Slight asymmetries make us who we are. Head shapes, like the rest of our bodies are genetically determined. If you or your husband has a broad, flattish head, then there’s a good chance your baby will too.

But occasionally a baby’s preferred lying position can contribute, especially if your baby will only lie with his/her head turned to one side or they spend most of her time lying on firm surfaces on her back (when they’re sleeping and when they’re awake).

Definition

Plagiocephaly is an asymmetry or flattening of the bones that make up the skull. There are two main types of plagiocephaly:

1. Synostotic: caused by abnormal development and premature closure of the joins between the individual skull bones (known as sutures). Synostotic plagiocephaly is rare (1 in 2000 babies) and requires surgery to open the sutures that have closed prematurely.
2.  Deformational: caused by external forces such as lying in the one position for too long (baby’s skull bones are malleable and can deform/flatten). Deformational plagiocephaly is the far more common form of flattening of the skull bones.

What are the implications?

The most obvious implication is cosmetic one. Although, a number of studies have suggested that deformational plagiocephaly is a “possible” reason for developmental delay that occurs in a small percentage of children.

Why does it happen?

An article published in Pediatrics in 2002 identified the following as risk factors for developing plagiocephaly before/during birth:

• Prolonged labour
• Use of forceps or suction
• Sharing the uterus with someone else (being a twin/triplet etc)
• Being a boy (boy babies have higher risk of plagiocephaly)

After birth, laying your baby on her back on hard surfaces (hard car seats, the floor etc.) in the same position again and again could possibly result in a flat spot developing in the soft bones of her head.

Is it treatable?

Yes of course! There is a lot you can do to minimise the flattening:

• Encourage your baby to turn away from the flattened side by having the door or something they like to look at towards on the opposite side to the flattening. If your baby is in bed with you, make sure the mother lies on the unaffected side.
• Supervise tummy time when your baby is awake (once she has enough head and neck control)
• Don’t leave your baby on her back on a hard car seat for long periods throughout the day when she could be on her side (alternate sides) or being held.

If the flattening is very definite and doesn’t respond to changing the position your baby lies in, another treatment option is a cranial moulding helmet – a polystyrene helmet, sort of like the inside of a bike helmet. There is some debate as to the efficacy of this treatment.

How can an osteopath help?

The osteopaths at Williamstown Osteopathy will examine your baby’s neck muscles and make sure that she doesn’t have a spasm that prevents her from turning her head both ways. They will also look at the joint between the base of the skull and the top of the neck for signs of compression that may have occurred in the uterus or during delivery and at the sutures of the skull.

There should be a small amount of give between the individual skull bones. An osteopath who works with children will use some gentle “spreading” techniques to restore this give to the sutures, so that as your baby’s brain grows, it will expand the bones of the skull evenly.

Taken from www.http://bulbosteopathy.com.au/blog/

Welcome to the authorised blog page of Williamstown Osteopathy & Health Services.

The intention of this blog is to provide up to date information on healthcare and wellbeing. We will be regularly posting articles relating to Osteoapthic, Naturopathic, Myotherapy and Massage therapies.

Williamstown Osteopathy & Health Services is committed to providing the highest standard of multidisciplinary care to a broad range of health issues.

We have brought together a dedicated, passionate and experienced team of practitioners in the fields of :

• Osteopathy
• Myotherapy
• Remedial massage therapy
• Naturopathy
• Podiatry
• Psychology

This enables us to provide a range of non-invasive therapies to suit a variety of patient needs. Our highly skilled therapists take a holistic approach towards your treatment, working with you to seek out the cause of the problem, rather than just treat the symptoms.

Located only 12km from Melbourne CBD, Williamstown Osteopathy services the Hobsons Bay community and surrounding suburbs including; Yarraville, Seddon, Newport, Point Cook, Kingsville, Spotswood Altona, Altona North, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Werribee and Williams Landing.