Pelvic Floor Health Beyond Pregnancy

Women of all ages — including those who have never had children — can experience pelvic floor symptoms. Understanding this helps reduce stigma and encourages earlier support.

What is the pelvic floor?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissues that support the bladder, bowel, and uterus. These muscles help control bladder and bowel function and play a role in sexual health and core stability.

Like any muscle group, the pelvic floor responds to load, strength training, fatigue, and recovery.

Pelvic floor symptoms are common

Research shows that urinary leakage affects up to one in three women at some point in their lives (Milsom et al., 2019). Pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic pain, and bowel symptoms are also common — even in women who have never been pregnant.

Risk factors include:

• High-impact exercise without adequate preparation
• Chronic constipation
• Repeated heavy lifting with poor attention to breathing
• Hormonal changes
• Poor coordination of abdominal and pelvic muscles

Exercise and the pelvic floor

Exercise is not bad for the pelvic floor, but how exercise is progressed matters. Sudden increases in running, jumping, or heavy lifting can overload the pelvic floor if strength and coordination are not adequate (Bo & Nygaard, 2020).

With the right approach, strength training can actually improve pelvic floor support and function.

Hormones and pelvic health

Oestrogen plays an important role in tissue health. During perimenopause and menopause, lower or fluctuating oestrogen levels can affect muscle strength and tissue elasticity (Portman & Gass, 2014).

This does not mean women should avoid exercise. It means pelvic floor training and load management become even more important.

Why early assessment helps

Many women wait years before seeking help, often assuming symptoms are normal or untreatable. Early pelvic health assessment can:

• Identify strength or coordination issues
• Guide safe exercise progression
• Reduce worsening symptoms over time

 

Pelvic floor symptoms are common — but they are not something women have to live with.

 

The take-home message

Pelvic floor health matters across the lifespan. Pregnancy is one risk factor, not the only one.

Looking after your pelvic floor early supports confidence, comfort, and long-term function.

References

Bo, K., & Nygaard, I. (2020). Is physical activity good or bad for the female pelvic floor? Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 32(6), 501–506.

Milsom, I., et al. (2019). Epidemiology of urinary incontinence. Nature Reviews Urology, 16(8), 415–435.

Portman, D. J., & Gass, M. L. (2014). Genitourinary syndrome of menopause. Menopause, 21(10), 1063–1068.