Keep Hydrated 

Dehydration can happen due to the dry air on planes, reduced water intake due to the busyness of travel, or increase in alcohol consumption at your holiday gatherings. Water in our gut and colon keeps things moving through the system, which keeps you regular. Hydration also keeps stool softer so that you don’t have to strain when you go. 

Keep Moving 

Physical activity is great for your whole body, but it also helps keep your gut moving. Our normal exercise routines often fall by the wayside when we travel or have time off from work, but maintaining some exercise will keep your gut from slowing down. Give your digestion a jump start by taking regular walks and getting in any other workouts you can. It doesn’t need to be strenuous, just get out and move! 

Balance Your Meals 

We all love to have a big celebratory meal, but starving yourself until dinner and then overeating is hard on your digestive system. Even if you’re having a big meal later, try to have some regular healthy snacks or small meals throughout the day to keep your system moving. Eating and drinking generates movement of food through the gut, so having something every few hours spurs more gut motility and helps prevent a backup. 

DIY a Squatty Potty 

The best position to poop in resembles a squat, with knees a little higher than your hips. At home you may have a Squatty Potty, or any small stool that you can place under your feet while sitting on the toilet. When you travel, you can get creative on how to make your own. A small trash can, step stool, or small box could all work as something to put your feet up on. Getting into this position to poop will help relax your pelvic floor and ease any straining. For more information on how positioning matters for pooping, see our previous post on the topic: https://motipt.com/constipation/. 

Have a happy (and regular) holiday season! 

The post <strong>Managing Constipation Over The Holidays – Tips From a Pelvic Floor PT</strong>  appeared first on MOTI Physiotherapy.

Let’s talk anatomy. Your pelvic floor is like a sling or hammock at the bottom of your pelvis. This means that important exit paths for waste, like your urethra and your rectum, need to pass through it to get to the outside. One particular muscle, called your puborectalis, plays a very important role in your bowel function. This muscle encircles itself around the rectum like a tether. When the muscle is pulled more tightly around the rectum it cinches the passageway and helps us keep fecal matter in. This is good most of the time because we certainly don’t want to have a bowel movement at the wrong time! Conversely, when we do want or need to have a bowel movement, that muscle needs to be able to relax and lengthen so that the rectum can become an easy passageway.  

So what does this mean for how we have a bowel movement? This anatomy means that the position we’re in while having a bowel movement can impact whether the puborectalis muscle is pulled taught (constricting the rectum) or allowed to lengthen (leaving the rectal passageway more open). When we’re sitting, as we are on standard Western toilets, our positioning doesn’t help us loosen the puborectalis. But if we come into a squatting position, as many Eastern countries do, the puborectalis muscle relaxes and lengthens to allow stool to pass more easily. 

 The good news is that you don’t need to throw out your current toilet! All you need to do is place your feet on a small stool in front of you to get your knees higher than your hips. Once you’ve done this you’re essentially in a squatting position and your puborectalis will be easier to relax. If you are dealing with constipation this can make bowel movements both easier and more comfortable. Managing diet, getting regular exercise, and reducing stress are also key pillars in dealing with constipation, as well as working with your doctor and a pelvic floor physical therapist on determining the underlying cause. However, understanding the mechanics of bowel movements and changing your position is one more small way to make things easier! 

– Dr. Lindsay Brunner, PT, DPT, OCS

The post Constipation & Your Pelvic Floor: Position Matters! appeared first on MOTI Physiotherapy.