Relax your belly!
Here’s an unpopular opinion about the core from a physiotherapist… Relax your belly! You're probably used to hearing physiotherapist tell you to ‘switch your core on’, ‘draw your belly button to spine’ and ‘tuck your tailbone’. Whilst all of that advise is extremely important and necessary, I am also suggesting the complete opposite when working with some women. Here’s why…
Think back to when your were a young girl, maybe you played sport or did dancing. The advice was always ‘suck your tummy in’. Women historically have focused on pulling their belly in to help with appearance, fit into clothes, improve their posture ect. This habit that begins as a kid often continues into adulthood. Whilst it is very important that we know how to engage our core for many reasons, I would argue it’s just as important to learn to relax it.
The abdominal muscles are like any other muscle where they have the ability to contract and relax and every muscle should fluctuate between the two. For the core an example would be when your picking something heavy off the floor we want the core engaged and when your resting on the couch it should be relaxed.
Imagine if you went through the entire day holding a 1kg weight with your elbow bent. If you then went to the gym that night and your PT asked you to do bicep curls, you may not have much left in the tank because your bicep has been working unnecessarily all day.
In my clinic I see lots of women of different ages and with different conditions. Something that is very common between a lot of them is that they hold unnecessary tension/ tone in their abdominal muscles all day. This means that when they need extra support from their core muscles, it may not have the capacity.
Some common issues this can cause are:
Low back pain
Rib pain
Middle back pain
Overactive pelvic floor muscles. This could lead to stress urinary incontinence, constipation, overactive bladder, urinary urgency, painful sex)
Part of my role as a physiotherapist is teach people how to relax their muscles. You would be surprised how hard it can actually be for someone who has held tension in their belly their whole life to actually relax.
If your reading this and think this could be you, try these following strategies:
Practice deep belly breathing in different positions and see which position helps you to expand your belly like a balloon the most.
Positions to try are on your back, on your side, in child’s pose, on hands and knees and in sitting.
If your struggling, try it in a bath where the weight is off your body. Adding some magnesium bath salts can help with muscle relaxation.
Practice cat/ cow stretch on hands on knees. When you arch your back try to completely relax and bulge your belly, when you round your back try engaging your core. Practice moving between contracting and relaxing the abdominals.
Set timers or put reminders around you to complete body scans throughout the day. If you notice abdominal tension that’s unnecessary to the activity your doing, try to relax.
Complete abdominal massage and spray magnesium spray directly over your belly.
Some cues to think about when trying to relax are:
Bulge your belly
Fill out your pants
Breath into your belly
Relax your pelvic floor like your starting the flow of wee
Working with a physiotherapist with a special interest in women’s health can help you if this is something you might be struggling with!
For any Dandenong Ranges/ Yarra Valley locals, you can book with me here.