Where’s Your Poop?
When I started learning about pelvic floor things professionally I thought I would be like “The Vagina Whisperer.” Instead, I joke I’ve become a Poop Queen. Why, do you ask, am I obsessed with poop?
The way your internal organs fit into your body, if your bowels are super constipated or unhappily crampy, this can lead to a variety of not so fun bladder symptoms. If you don’t make the bowels happy and functional, they irritate your bladder. Since your bladder is best described as an angry two year old, we can assume an irritated bladder is a frequent or leaky bladder.
How do we know if it is a poop problem?
First I’d recommend looking at it. EVERY TIME. Some folks I talk to avoid looking at their poop. After kids are potty trained and we’re no longer wiping them, we’re also not seeing their BMs. My suggestion is to hang a “stool chart” in your bathroom, so that everyone can assess their BMs, because this provides a lot of information about what is going on with your bowels.
Officially constipation is defined as going to the bathroom for a bowel movement less than 3 x per week. “Normal bowel movements” are therefore considered going from 3 x per day to 3 x per week. That leaves a lot of room to interpret the poop messages wrong!
What do we want from our poop?
*Poop that is soft and smooshy
*Comes out easily, like soft serve ice cream
*Comes out after an urge is felt within 5 minutes of sitting to poop
*Comes as often as needed to not to feel backed up, abdominal pressure or bloating
*Gives the feeling of relief afterwards, like an “emptying” feeling
Why do we want our poop to be spectacular?
Constipation can cause lots of symptoms pelvic floor related and not including but not limited to:
- Abdominal bloating and cramping
- Painful BMs
- Hemorrhoids/ anal fissures
- Urinary frequency
- Urinary Urgency
- Urinary leakage/ incontinence
- Fecal leakage/ incontinence
- Painful Intercourse
- Pelvic Pain
- Nighttime urination/ nocturia
- Bedwetting in children (and some adults!)
- Frequent UTIs
- Bad breath
- Increased heartburn
A trained Pelvic Floor PT can work with your doctor, or your child’s practitioner if they are the one having the issue to manage your bowels to get to the right stool consistency, frequency and keep you regular and happy!
Perfectly yours!
Miss Mora
