How I was reminded about my pelvic floor

During a recent holiday hike in Wales, I slipped in the mud. My daughter was so kind not to laugh out loud in the moment, but since we have returned home she likes to make funny jokes about it. At that moment I didn’t mind to be covered in the mud so much, but more by the trickle on my clothing caused by the fall. The day just started and I didn’t have any dry clothes with me. So I wiped the mud from my clothing and embarassingly bunched some paper in my underwear.
The days after this incident I decided to change plans. At training camp (see previous blog), I learned a wise but hard lesson to always take my Carin underwear on a trip. The remaining of our family holiday I walked around with more confidence..

An embarrassing discovery

This problem could probably have been solved a while ago. After delivering my second child I embarrassingly noticed my problem during an outdoor company trip where I enrolled in the endurance programme. The excitement soon dropped and turned in to embarrassment. While doing the exercises, I noticed that something went terribly wrong and others could see this even more. Unfortunately it did not stop. I used to love running but the fun in running decreased rapidly. I even began to feel uncertain. And next to that, I felt something precious had been taken away from me.

Finding a solution

A friend tipped me about the perfect solution: the rubber band surgery. This would help me get rid of all embarrassment immediately so I didn’t have to run with clenched buttocks and arrive home disappointed. However, the doctor did not agree with this solution. He felt that pelvic floor exercises are the best solution for my case. He gave me a reference to a pelvic floor specialist. And that was it.

Dealing with it

Soon I found out which activities highly trigger it and that inactivity is the best prevention. I taught myself some tricks enabling me to have reasonably fun whilst running. By adapting my life to the problem, the need for seeking help was swept under the carpet. Since then I experienced relatively heavy and low intensive events. The reference note to the physiotherapist is still somewhere in a drawer.

Would you like to train together with me?

In mean time I installed the Carin Exercise app on my phone. Whilst the doctor’s note is still unused since it is difficult to schedule trips to the physiotherapist in my calender, rolling out my yoga mat takes much less effort. I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

By Kirsten van der Kolk