Travelling Pelvic Floors



I love travelling and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to do so. However, one of the downsides about moving to the other side of the world is that you do spend a lot of time in transit just to get home for a visit. Over the last month and a bit, I have done a ridiculous amount of flying (for educational courses, home visits and fun), spending about 45hrs in the air (between Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Brisbane, Sydney, Dallas and Austin) and a whole bunch more time in and around airports, taxis, buses and trains. All of this added up to a very sore tail bone and tight pelvic floor muscles and a lot of time to think about how travelling can affect your pelvic health. 
Here are some of my travel-related observations to keep in mind that you can also apply to your everyday life!

Sitting
The most obvious downside to travelling is the looong amounts of time spent sitting and particularly the way that you sit. I have a tendency to curl up in my seat to sleep, however this causes increased pressure on the tailbone and sacrum, closing up the pelvic outlet and shortening all of the pelvic floor muscles. If you must sit for a long time:
  1. Try to maintain a neutral pelvis while sitting by keeping your weight on your sit bones (ischial tuberosities) and off your tailbone. Sit tall, not always easy in the reclined plane seats but doable. Try get your bum as far back on the seat as possible if you can keep your feet supported and put a rolled scarf/pillow/jumper behind your lower back to help maintain your position if needed. 
  2. Change positions frequently, pelvic tilting (rocking your hips forward and back) can help to gently stretch out the muscles in your back and open the pelvic outlet
  3. Get up and walk every now and then and see if you can find a space to stretch your hips, hamstrings and calves

Constipation
Travel (especially across time zones) can throw off your regular eating, hydration and sleeping routines which can lead to digestive changes. Not to mention higher toilet seats which can make it difficult to completely relax and open the pelvic floor muscles. Constipation is not only annoying and uncomfortable but is also a big concern for pelvic health due to straining. Try to minimize the damage to your pelvic organs and muscles by:
  1. Staying hydrated - drink lots of water, even more than usual as the plane and airport environments are very dehydrating
  2. Go when you need to! If you delay emptying your bowels, the stool becomes dehydrated and hard (not so fun)
  3. Don't hold your breath and strain to empty
  4. Don't forget the fibre in your diet, not always the first thought when dining out at restaurants but some greens and a bit of roughage can go a long way. Fibre supplements such as Metamucil can also be helpful to keep you regular
  5. Avoiding shortening/tightening of the pelvic floor muscles (see above)
Heavy Lifting
Lots of sitting = Sleepy/shortened muscles. 
Asking sleepy/shortened muscles to lift a heavy suitcase = Potential ouch.
Trying to awkwardly grab said suitcase off the baggage carousel with one hand = Shoulder ouch. 
Holding your breath while doing the above = lots of downwards pressure on your pelvic organs and muscles and a good way to exacerbate a prolapse. 

These tips go for looking after your shoulders and back, as well as your pelvic floor:
  1. Try to position yourself well and with a good amount of space when getting your luggage off the carousel 
  2. Use two hands if needed
  3. Don't pack a reaally heavy carry-on if you are going to put it overhead
  4. Bend your knees and stick out your bum when lifting from lower down
  5. NEVER hold your breath when lifting heavy items. Or for any reason really, unless swimming underwater. It's a pretty important life function. Instead, breathing out while lifting helps to decrease the pressure inside your abdomen and pelvis. 

Stress
Some people carry stress and tension in their shoulders. A lot of us hold it in our pelvic floor muscles and are super tense without even realising. Travelling and airports can be stressful but don't necessarily have to be. Give yourself enough time to get to the airport without having to panic about missing the plane. Remember to breathe.

Waiting in lines and waiting some more
This one you can turn into a positive! While waiting in ticketing lines/security lines/customs lines/boarding lines/during four hour stopovers, it is a great opportunity to practice active standing and good postural alignment. Get some movement and walking in before you have to sit down for your flight. It also helps if you are wearing well fitted flat shoes while travelling so that you can walk around comfortably (I love my Toms!).

Also, I can't recommend Katy Bowman's Aligned and Well blog and book highly enough to learn how simple changes in the way that you move can make a huge difference to your overall wellbeing. 

Safe Travels!

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