Pelvic Health & Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Addressing your questions about pelvic, women's, and musculoskeletal health. Health is a journey. Movement is healing!
Here in the United States we sit on toilets where are legs are at 90 degrees or even larger angles. Guess what? That is not the ideal position for having a bowel movement in fact, if you are already straining being in this position will only make having a bowel movement more difficult. We have a muscle in our pelvis, the puborectalis, that runs from the front of the pelvis back around the rectum and then connects back to the front of the pelvis again. It forms a sling basically. When we sit at a 90 degree angle this muscle cannot fully relax allowing the contents of the rectum to pass through as picture below on the left side. It's as if you take a garden hose and kink it slightly, the contents won't pass through as readily. The solution is to get into a squatting position. How do you do this? Have you heard of a Squatty Potty? If you haven't you need to add it to your Amazon wish list ASAP. In the picture on the right you can see how the position of the puborectalis and the colon changes with the squatting position (hips are both bent and the back is bent forward slightly--not hunched). The colon can more easily empty in this position without you feeling like you need to strain to empty your bowel. You can also use a stool to elevate your feet on the toilet to assume the squatting position, but I think the Squatty Potty is pretty nifty because it's the perfect height, comes in different sizes, plus it slides right under the toilet when you are done. Some other tips to avoid straining: 1. Try to relax when on the toilet. It does no good to sit there just pushing continuously. 2. Keep your mouth open when you are breathing so that you don't increase the pressure in your abdomen. 3. Give yourself enough time, about 10 mins. If you don't go in 10 minutes get up and walk around, try again at a later time. This may not apply to all individuals if you are concerned about your ability to have a pain-free bowel movement please see your local pelvic health physical therapist. Comments are closed.
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AuthorHello! I am Caitlyn, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified Women's Health Physical Therapist working in St Louis, Missouri. Faculty in developing residency program. Endowarrior Categories
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July 2021
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