Pelvic floor muscles
Uaua pae papatoiake
Your pelvic floor muscles (PFM) are a group of muscles that stretch from the back (your tail bone) to the front (your pubic bone) and from side to side. They can move up and down, a bit like a trampoline. They have holes in them to allow your urethra and anus (and for women, your vagina) to pass through. They're often referred to as your core muscles.
In men, the PFMs support the bladder and bowel. In women, they support the bladder, bowel and uterus (womb). Together with other muscles, they support and stabilise your pelvis and spine. They also help with bladder and bowel control and prevent leakage of urine (wee), wind and faeces (poo).
Causes of weakened PFMs
When your PFMs get weak or are damaged, they don't work as well. Common causes of this are:
- excessive straining when passing a bowel motion (poo) due to constipation
- repeated heavy lifting putting pressure on the muscles
- the muscles getting weaker with age
- being overweight, which puts more pressure on the muscles
- surgical removal of the prostate (men)
- pregnancy and childbirth (women)
- hormonal changes due to pregnancy, the menstrual cycle or menopause (women).
Strengthening your PFMs
With the right exercise programme, it's possible to retrain and strengthen your PFMs. See:
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Page created April 2023.
Sources
The information in this section comes from the following sources, some of which may be clinically complex or not available to the general public
BPAC – Urinary continence in adults. Retrieved March 2019.
BPAC – Urinary incontinence in women: the management of urinary incontinence in women, Retrieved February 2019.
Canterbury Community HealthPathways – Urinary incontinence in women. Retrieved February 2019.
Continence Foundation of Australia. Retrieved February 2019.
Continence Foundation of Australia – Pelvic floor muscles in men. Retrieved February 2019.
Continence New Zealand. Retrieved March 2019.
KidsHealth – Urinary tract infection. Retrieved September 2021.
NHS – Bedwetting in children. Retrieved September 2021.
NHS – Cystitis, Retrieved February 2019.
NHS – Interstitial cystitis, Retrieved January 2019.
NHS – Urinary incontinence. Retrieved March 2019.
The British Association of Urological Surgeons. Retrieved March 2019.
The British Association of Urological Surgeons – Urinary infection (adult). Retrieved February 2019.
Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand. Retrieved January 2019.
Image and embedded video sources
Female pelvic floor muscles animated video from Continence Foundation of Australia on YouTube.
Female pelvic floor muscles illustration from Shutterstock (image ID 200938985). June 2018.
Image of elderly couple from Shutterstock (image ID 705198691). September 2019.
Image of woman holding her abdomen from Shutterstock (image ID 1802606767). April 2023.
Image of woman in pain sitting on couch from Shutterstock (image ID 403461826). October 2019.
Image of women reading the newspaper from jk1991 at FreeDigitalPhotos. March 2017.
Male pelvic floor muscles animated video from Continence Foundation of Australia on YouTube.
Urinary system illustration from Shutterstock (image ID 179481320). April 2019.
Page reference: 628323
Review key: HIURS-53047
