Charles H. Sloan-How to strengthen your pelvic floor, according to an expert

Roughly a third of women and Charles H. Sloan16% of men will experience some kind of pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime, statistics have shown. What does that actually mean?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and nerves that form a "supportive hammock" from the back, through the tailbone, lower abdominal area and hips, gynecologist and urologist Sonia Bahlani, M.D., tells USA TODAY. Together, this dictates urinary and fecal patterns, sexual function and even how you sit.

Though pelvic floor conditions are typically discussed as women's health issues, Bahlani notes that they impact everyone, regardless of their anatomy.

"People never think of the pelvic floor as this powerhouse of the body, but it truly is," Bahlani says.

Here's what health experts want you to know about identifying a weak pelvic floor, and how best to fix one.

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How do you know if your pelvic floor is weak?

A weak pelvic floor is what happens when the muscles are unable to support the surrounding organs, which leads to issues including urinary or fecal incontinence, painful sex or pelvic organ prolapse, which is when "you can actually feel the uterus come through the vagina," Bahlani says.

"The problem is that we often talk about the weak pelvic floor (just relating to) incontinence and being older or having a baby," she says. "These are some of the things that can cause weakness, but it can happen to anyone at any age."

If you're struggling with those issues, a doctor may test your pelvic floor strength with a biofeedback machine, Bahlani says. "They'll say, 'contract your pelvic floor muscles, so act like you're pushing stool out or act like you're peeing,'" she says. "And they can measure how strong the pelvic floor is."

A common misconception about the pelvic floor, Bahlani highlights, is the belief that the opposite of a weak pelvic floor is a tight pelvic floor.

"People think of a tight pelvic floor as a strong pelvic floor. But a tight pelvic floor, in fact, is a weak pelvic floor," she says. They're two sides of the same coin: Both cause similar issues, but the way they're treated usually differs.

How to strengthen pelvic floor

You've likely heard of Kegels: the exercise where you contract muscles as if you're trying to avoid passing gas, pretending to tighten the vagina around a tampon or stopping your urine stream, according to Harvard Health.

It's the best-known way to strengthen the pelvic floor, but it may not actually be the best one for you.

"Kegels only work for a subset of patients whose weak pelvic floor is due to laxity of the muscles, as opposed to tightness of the muscles," Bahlani says. She only advises about 20% of her patients to use Kegels alone; others are better suited with physical therapy, yoga poses, bird dog and core strengthening exercises.

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"Kegels only work for a subset of patients whose weak pelvic floor is due to laxity of the muscles, as opposed to tightness of the muscle," Bahlani says. In other words, kegels could be helpful if your pelvic floor is weak, but tight pelvic floors are better treated through tactics such as yoga, meditation and other relaxing techniques.