Pelvic Health

Find more information about conditions that can affect your pelvic area and how to do pelvic floor exercises to stop leaks on the NHS website: 

Pelvic floor

Your pelvic floor muscles sit at the base of your pelvis. They help to keep your bladder, uterus, vagina and bowel (pelvic organs) in the right place. Your pelvic floor muscles should be kept strong and active, just like any other muscle.

Pelvic organ prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse is when 1 or more of the organs in the pelvis slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina.

Pelvic pain

Pelvic pain is felt in the lower part of your tummy. The type of pain varies, and it may be sudden and severe (acute pelvic pain) or last 6 months or longer (chronic pelvic pain).

Pelvic inflammatory disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the female reproductive system, which includes the womb, fallopian tubes and ovaries.

Urinary incontinence

For many people with urinary incontinence, the self-help tips and lifestyle changes explained here are enough to relieve symptoms:

Useful guides 

The International Urogynecological Association has a range of leaflets for different topics, available in lots of languages:

• Search leaflets by topic
• Search leaflets by language

The Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy organisation have produced booklets for the following topics. Click the links below and scroll down to ‘download booklet’ to download a free copy.  

• Pelvic Organ Prolapse – A physiotherapy guide for women 

• Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises (for women) 

• Promoting Continence with Physiotherapy 

• Improving Your Bowel Function 

• Pilates in Women’s Health Physiotherapy 

• Management of Urinary Frequency, Urgency and Urge Incontinence 

• The Pelvic Floor Muscles – a Guide for Women who are having or have had Pelvic Radiotherapy 

• Pelvic floor muscle exercises and advice – A guide for trans men, trans masculine and non-binary people (who were assigned female at birth). 

• Pelvic floor muscle exercises and advice – A guide for trans women, trans feminine and non-binary people (who were assigned male at birth). 

• Fit following surgery – advice for trans men, trans masculine and non-binary people following hysterectomy. 

Pregnancy  

• Fit for Pregnancy 

• Fit for birth  

• Pregnancy Related Pelvic Girdle Pain and other common conditions in pregnancy 

• Exercise and Advice After Pregnancy 

• Exercise and advice after loss of your baby 

• Essential Exercises and Advice After Childbirth 

• Fit and Safe: Exercise in the Childbearing Year