PELVIC SURGERY & FRACTURES

When you have a fracture or surgery, the body experiences a trauma, and it works to protect against further harm by tensing muscles to hold your joints still to keep the body safe. In the pelvic region, this can cause pelvic floor muscles to tighten up, which can lead to problems such as pain and incontinence. 

The body’s protection response is complex: While it has an immediate on switch, the off switch is more like a dimmer—we have to constantly reassure ourselves that the danger is no longer present and we can relax. This can be done passively with time or actively with massage, strength exercises, focused breathing and practiced relaxation. 

The muscles in our pelvic and abdominal area are very closely linked in how they work together for function, so if you have trauma or disruption in one area, you may experience tension in another area as a result. Similarly, a broken pelvis or coccyx (tailbone) will lead to pelvic floor overactivity while the fracture heals, and this overactivity may not turn itself off without help. 

If you have had any type of reconstructive (prolapse), oncological (hysterectomy) or abdominal excision (endometriosis) surgery, we suggest having your pelvic floor tension evaluated by a pelvic physiotherapist. If perineal massage is recommended, the KR Curve will make it much easier to relax muscles in this area.