09/01/2026
In pelvic floor therapy, we look at the whole system - how the ribcage, spine, abdominals, hips, pelvis, diaphragm, etc., are working together.
When we improve how these pieces work together, we can better distribute pressure and offload the pelvic floor instead of asking it to constantly compensate (aka: tension, pain, pressure, leaking).
These photos are 3 weeks apart (shared with patient permission). On the left, you see a very common postpartum postural orientation: pelvis tipped forward, ribs flared in the front, back extended and compressed, with loads of pressure forward on lengthened abdominals and down onto the pelvic floor.
On the right you can see her ribcage sitting more directly over the pelvis and an overall less forward-shifted position head to toes. This is significant because when the body is better stacked in this way, muscles don’t have to work as hard to hold you up, allowing the core and pelvic floor to manage pressure and load more efficiently.
At the start of care, this patient was experiencing pelvic pressure/heaviness and groin pain. Alongside the postural changes shown here, these symptoms have significantly reduced, nearly resolved in fact.
This is exactly why pelvic floor strengthening in isolation isn’t always the answer. If we strengthen the pelvic floor without addressing why it may be compensating in the first place, we’re missing the mark completely.
The goal isn’t perfect posture. It’s helping the whole body work together more efficiently so the pelvic floor isn’t overloaded to the point of dysfunction.
If you’re postpartum, dealing with unresolved symptoms, and have never seen a pelvic floor therapist (or have seen one but it didn’t help), let’s chat! I’d love to help 🤗
