Keep Your Pelvis Jolly This Holiday | Peak Physical Therapy | Quincy MA

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and all through Peak Physical Therapy Quincy MA, we are really getting into the feeling of the holidays. With so much holiday cheer in the air, we can’t let feelings such as constipation, urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, stomach bloating, or overall heaviness take away our joy. While you may have been experiencing these symptoms before the holiday season began, this time of the year can bring out the best (and the worst) in us when it comes to our health. There have been many changes and obstacles throughout the past year and the last thing anyone needs is their holiday spirit dampened by having a dysfunctional pelvic floor. Here are some factors that may contribute to the onset or worsening of your pelvic floor symptoms over the holidays.

Diet

There is no hiding the number of holiday treats, decadent yet calorie-packed family meals, and festive beverages everyone enjoys consuming around this time of year. While it is always okay to indulge ever so often, when your bladder begins to act up, this may be a sign to change your ways. Sugar, caffeine, and alcohol are bladder irritants or diuretics. Consuming food or beverages with these ingredients mixed in may result in the urge to urinate more frequently as your body works to remove the irritants from your system. These irritants, along with foods like gluten, dairy, and other processed foods also contribute to digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, among a list of others. An effective way to combat these symptoms is to make healthy alternatives for your favorite dishes.

Activity

With the cold weather upon us as well as gym and exercise class closures, we at Peak Physical Therapy are the first to understand that finding the time and place to exercise is posing as a challenge this time of the year. Nevertheless, deciding to pick up an exercise plan that you once could complete may not be the solution you are looking for either. Not getting your body moving and working your muscles throughout your body can have a negative effect on your pelvic floor muscles. In addition, advancing your exercise routine and adding in moves that your body is not used to, such as jumping, heavy lifting, or running, can result in changes around the pelvic area as well. These changes could be experienced through symptoms such as exercise-induced urinary incontinence, hip pain, or lower back pain. Additionally, your body not moving as much as it should can also negatively affect your pelvic area and digestive system. Movement stimulates our gastro-intestinal tract. Without proper stimulation, we may experience increased constipation and stress on our pelvic floor.

Stress

There is no doubt that the holidays bring added stress along with the many other exciting and joyous times. However, the stress of the quarantine and deciphering the best way to go about spending the holidays just adds another layer to the cake. Whether it’s present selection, meal prep, traveling, or COVID, stress seems to be a staple of this time of the year. A common location that we tend to hold stress within our bodies is our pelvic floor muscles. Experiencing tension or muscle stiffness in our pelvic floor not only increases pelvic pain, but can also contribute to urinary incontinence, constipation, and weakness.

Don’t allow your holidays to be dampened by your pelvic floor muscles and their unpleasant effects. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, the professional therapists at Peak Physical Therapy Quincy MA are prepared to work with you, alongside a team of experienced pelvic floor therapists to decide what the best course of action is for your set of symptoms. Contact us today.

Peak Physical Therapy Quincy MA

Our South Shore Physical Therapy practice specializes in physical therapy including many specialty programs including return-to-sports, vestibular, pelvic health, post-concussion, aquatics, and more. Locations include physical therapy Quincy, MA, Norwell, MA, Hanover, MA, Pembroke, MA, and Braintree, MA, Scituate, MA. Our specialized programs combined with state-of-the-art facilities allow us to meet the unique needs of our local patients and achieve the fastest results. If you are unsure whether this type of treatment can help you, we offer a no-obligation FREE injury screening. Click here for more information.