Episode 172: What Everyone Needs To Know About The Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor is a super important set of muscles that plays a vital role in sexual, reproductive, urinary, and bowel function. However, most of us don’t know all that much about it, which is a shame because paying attention to your pelvic health has the potential to improve your overall health and give you a boost in the bedroom, too. So, let’s talk about what everyone needs to know about their pelvic floor! For today’s episode, I am joined by Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, an experienced pelvic floor physical therapist who works with patients of all genders and ages with pelvic health diagnoses. She is known for spreading evidence-based pelvic health information in humorous and relatable ways on social media through @ThePelvicDanceFloor, which has over 1 million combined followers between Instagram and Tiktok. Some of the topics we discuss include: What is the pelvic floor anyway ? What are the most common pelvic floor issues, and how are they similar or different across genders? When (and for whom) are Kegel exercises a good idea? What’s the right way to do Kegels? How do pelvic floor issues vary across the lifespan? What are some common myths and misconceptions about the pelvic floor? Make sure to check out Alicia on TikTok and Instagram @ThePelvicDanceFloor. Thank you to our sponsors! Support sex science by becoming a friend of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. Visit kinseyinstitute.org to make a donation to support ongoing research projects on critical topics. You can also show your support by following the Kinsey Institute on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  *** Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click here for previous articles or follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTube and Instagram. Listen and stream all episodes on Apple, Spotify, Google, or Amazon. Subscribe to automatically receive new episodes and please rate and review the podcast! Credits: Precision Podcasting (Podcast editing) and Shutterstock/Florian (Music). Image created with Canva; photos used with permission of guest.