INCONTINENCE

While we often talk about incontinence (involuntary peeing) caused by weak pelvic floor muscles, few people realize that excessive tightness (hypertonia) in the pelvic floor muscles can also lead to incontinence. 

Here’s what’s going on: Muscles that aren’t contracting are in a stretched state called the resting length. When the resting length is ideal, we’re able to reach optimal contraction when the muscles are stimulated. But when muscles are in hypertonia, the tightness reduces the resting length of the muscle and prevents us from reaching that optimal contraction. How does this impact urination? Well, your pelvic floor muscles hold urine in the bladder by contracting, so if they’re excessively tight, they’re not contracting well—and that can lead to bladder leakage, a.k.a. incontinence. 

Pelvic physiotherapists often find that releasing excessive tightness in pelvic floor muscles helps the muscles contract more effectively. If your physiotherapist has identified tightness and thinks you’d benefit from pelvic floor massage or relaxation, the KR Curve can help you stretch these tissues and achieve that muscular release.