 Leaking in cross fitters is common... and often considered a normal side effect of lifting heavy weights. But guess what, it doesn't have to be. You can cross fit/lift heavy weights and not leak! A women's health physiotherapist can make sure your pelvic rehab is functional and will meet the demands of your lifting regime. Here are some top tips for those that want to lift weights but also ensure they are protecting their pelvic floor.
1. Exhale during the exertion. This reduces the pressure going through your pelvis during the lift. 2. Belts increase pressure, which is exactly what we want to avoid to reduce urinary leakage or other pelvic floor symptoms. You may feel you can lift heavier with a belt on, but long term you pelvic floor won't thank you for it. 4. Engage your pelvic floor as your exhale through the exertion. This gives extra support and helps to manage any pressure. Make sure you let go of your pelvic floor at the end of the exertion. 5. Focus on pelvic floor engagement rather than bracing your abdominals during the lift. Engaging your abdominals alone actually increases the amount of pressure during the lift.
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 During pregnancy, the additional load of the baby and the uterus cause changes to the bladder, urethra and the pelvic floor. This weight creates a lot of additional work for the pelvic floor and as a result the muscles can become weaker. The hormonal changes occurring in pregnancy soften the ligaments and muscles around the pelvis to allow stretching for delivery, but again this makes it much harder for the pelvic floor to contract well. By the end of pregnancy your pelvic floor can lack the tone and strength that was there at the start of pregnancy (especially if you haven’t been doing any pelvic floor floor work in pregnancy!), making symptoms related to pelvic floor weakness very common. It is because of these changes that EVERY woman should do pelvic floor rehab after a baby, regardless of how you delivered or whether you have symptoms.
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AuthorClaire is a women's health and sports Physiotherapist. She is the owner of Spring Physio and is based in East Sussex. Archives
October 2024
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