Ah, the common cold. It’s the delightful time of year when you’re breaking out the box of tissues and checking to see if your cough meds are expired. While colds have a tendency to wreak havoc on your sinuses they can also wreak havoc on your pelvic floor. I was reminded of this over the weekend as I was battling out a cold myself and realizing just how much impact continuous coughing, sneezing and nose blowing can have on the pelvic floor! These lovely activities put a lot of pressure down into our pelvic floor and it has to respond by contracting and relaxing to manage that pressure. When we get sick and are coughing and sneezing more frequently and blowing our nose every few minutes our pelvic floor can get exhausted from trying to manage that pressure and we can experience things like leakage, worsening of prolapse, and even sometimes increasing tension. Don’t worry though, I’m here to share some tips on surviving cold and flu season without giving your pelvic floor a panic attack. Because, let’s face it, the last thing you need is your sneeze putting your entire core into a frenzy.
Tip #1 Kegel as you cough, sneeze, or blow your nose.
If you’re someone who is prone to having leakage with these activities try engaging your pelvic floor muscles prior to your cough, sneeze, or nose blowing session. Now I know you’re probably reading this and thinking, “well what if I can’t predict when I’m going to cough or sneeze?” That’s totally okay, just work on it during predictable times to help train your pelvic floor muscles for those sneaky sneezes that you can’t predict. If you’re not sure how to even connect with your pelvic floor, check out my previous post “Just Breathe!” for more information.
If you are giving this a try and its not giving you the relief you need, you can also try external hand pressure to the perineum, crossing the legs/squeezing the knees together, or engaging your lower abs to help support your pelvic floor during a cough, sneeze, or when blowing your nose:
Tip #2 Don’t make a habit of blowing your nose on the toilet.
The toilet can be a vulnerable position for the pelvic floor for a few reasons. One, your pelvic floor is trained to relax when you sit on the toilet which is what allows you to empty your bladder and bowels so contracting it while you’re peeing or pooping can lead to difficulty fully emptying. Two, the pressure from blowing your nose can put too much pressure down on the pelvic floor muscles in a position where they are more relaxed and make symptoms such as prolapse or leakage worse.
Tip #3 Don’t forget to relax!
It can be easy with all this coughing and kegeling for your pelvic floor muscles to tighten up to help you fight the tendency to leak or have vaginal pressure. If this is the case you may experience symptoms such as constipation, difficulty emptying your bladder, tailbone pain, or pain in the general pelvic area. If this is you – try getting into some positions that allow for expansion and relaxation of the pelvic floor. Some examples are a deep squat, child’s pose, happy baby, or laying over a bolster on your belly. Try taking a few deep breaths in these positions (if you can without going into a coughing fit) and see if that doesn’t help alleviate the symptoms above.
Tip #4 Prepare for your next cold before it happens!
The best way to prevent pelvic floor issues during your next cold is to train your pelvic floor muscles to function well before the cold happens! If you are someone who feels unsure about how to connect to their pelvic floor or you feel like you may not have the best ability to contract or relax those muscles, don’t wait until you’re in the middle of a coughing fit to try to perfect your pelvic floor function. We have tons of blog posts on connecting with the pelvic floor and upcoming free workshops to help you feel more confident about this. Feel free to check out our website for previous blogs and upcoming pelvic health events!
Tip #5 Lastly, don’t panic.
If you’re not someone who normally notices leakage or pressure in the pelvic area and are experiencing these symptoms during a cold, don’t panic, your pelvic floor is not permanently damaged. Just like any muscle it gets fatigued and when it has to work over and over again during a respiratory illness making it hard for it to do its job perfectly. Chances are that after you recover you will be just fine and not have to worry about these things becoming a normal part of day to day life. And if it doesn’t recover fully and you are still noticing leakage or pressure after a cold, give us a call! That’s why pelvic floor physical therapists are here! We assess any muscle imbalances or improper pressure management strategies to figure out what’s the cause of your symptoms and how to optimize the pelvic floor’s function to alleviate them!
I hope this can help everyone during this and future cold/flu seasons. Stay well out there:)
Written by: Kelsey Karnes PT, DPT
