Exercises for A “Better Bladder” Utilizing A Pilates-based Approach

Since the pelvic floor muscles in your pelvis go around your urethra, vagina and rectum, we need exercises that teach the body a motion of lifting up and in, not pushing down. Pilates aids in specific exercises that can be used in a home-based program for CORE conditioning. Learn how to incorporate a holistic approach to incontinence and how to help yourself through a Pilates-based practice.

• Isolation exercises, focusing on contracting the pelvic floor muscles, and not the abdomen, thigh or buttock muscles.
  
• Internal muscle lifting exercises, focusing on the Transverse Abdominal Muscle Group (TAMG) which forms the front of the CORE muscles.
  
• Strengthening exercises, focusing on the transversus abdominis (TrA) muscle (aka the queen of continence). This muscle runs from front to back and is the primary support for both the spine and the pelvis.
  
• Rib cage breathing techniques, and maintaining a neutral spine, are emphasized in addition to strengthening your TrA muscle. These three together are the recipe for success.
  
• Bending and twisting exercises for your multifidus muscle, on the back of the CORE muscles.