Your pelvic floor consists of muscles and other tissues that sit at the “floor” of your pelvis. They keep your bladder, rectum, uterus and vagina in place and functioning correctly. Pelvic floor disorders (PFD) occur when your pelvic floor muscles or connective tissue weaken or become injured.

Common types of pelvic floor disorders include:

• Bladder control problems, such as urinating frequently, strong urge to urinate or urine leakage (urinary incontinence)
• Bowel control problems, when liquid or solid stool leaks from your rectum (fecal incontinence)
• Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), when pelvic organs such as your bladder, rectum or vagina fall down or press into other organs

Symptoms depend on which type of pelvic floor disorder you have.

Common Symptoms

• Aching or heaviness in your vagina
• Constipation or difficulty emptying your bladder
• Feeling something bulging out of your vagina
• Frequent urinary tract infections
• Leaking urine when coughing, exercising or laughing
• Pain during urination
• Urinary or fecal incontinence

Pelvic floor disorders happen when health issues weaken your pelvic floor. Muscle strain or injury can also cause PFD.

Some genetic conditions, like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, weaken the connective tissue in your pelvic floor.

A number of medical conditions and other factors can increase your risk of pelvic floor disorders, including:

Our urogynecologists have special training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. Your provider can help to diagnose pelvic floor disorders.

We will first ask about your symptoms and medical history. Then we will do a pelvic exam to look for muscle weakness, bulges related to pelvic organ prolapse and causes for urinary and/or bowel symptoms.

You may undergo testing to check for issues with bladder control, such as:

• Cystoscopy to look inside your bladder for any issues
• Urinalysis to check your urine for any infections
• Urodynamics to see how your bladder and urethra (the tube where urine exists in your body) are working

Your provider may also recommend tests to check your bowel control, including:

• Anal manometry to check the strength of your anal sphincter muscles
• Colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy to look inside your colon or your bowel near your rectum (sigmoid)
• Dynamic defecography to see your pelvic floor and rectum while you have a bowel movement

The UC Davis Division of Female Pelvic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery (Urogynecology) team offers a wide range of treatment options for pelvic floor disorders. We are dedicated to helping to improve your quality of life. Our treatments include:

Practicing healthy lifestyle habits may help decrease your risk of pelvic floor disorders. These habits include:

• Doing pelvic floor muscle training (Kegel exercises) as advised by your provider, especially after childbirth
• Eating a healthy diet with enough fiber and water, to help prevent constipation
• Maintaining a healthy weight, to help reduce pelvic floor muscle strain
• Quitting smoking, to lessen coughing that can strain pelvic floor muscles and prevent tobacco smoke from causing a faster breakdown of connective tissue
• Using your legs rather than your abdominal muscles or back to lift heavy objects