The Deep Core: Why it Matters for Postpartum Healing
Does the term “deep core” have you a little stumped on what exactly that even means? Or maybe you have some idea on what it is referring to, but are struggling to find the significance between the deep core and postpartum healing. This blog post is going to go in-depth about the anatomy of the deep core, where it’s located, what exactly it does and why we need to know about all of this for optimal postpartum healing! Read all the way to the bottom for my two-cents on kegels and why they aren’t the “fix all” of the pelvic floor.
When trying to activate and engage the deep core, if you have no idea what muscles you’re trying to activate, what they look like, where they are located or how they contract, it’s going to be very difficult to engage them effectively without that mind to muscle connection or body awareness.
I know for some, it can be extremely challenging to just picture it in your mind or read about it on a blog post - hello all you visual learners, I’m right there with ya! If this is you, I want to remind you that my postpartum program, Mind Body Core covers EVERYTHING you need to know about the core and postpartum healing! There are videos, pictures, text…ALL THE THINGS for you to learn about postpartum healing and a step-by-step plan to walk you through that healing process. But for the purposes of this blog, I’ll do my best to explain the anatomy of the deep core here!
Deep Core Muscles: Layers From the Most Internal to the Most External
Transverse Abdominis - referred to as "the corset muscle" because it is responsible for pulling IN your core
Internal Obliques - helps with rotating and bending the body
Rectus Abdominis - referred to as the "6 pack abs" and mostly helps with crunching
External Obliques - a large muscle group that helps with rotating and bending the body
* A little extra tidbit about diastasis recti - The rectus abdominis is what separates during pregnancy and forms a diastasis recti when a gap is left postpartum. The transverse abdominis is KEY to healing that diastasis recti!
Although the Transverse Abdominis plays a huge role, ALL of these muscles are important for healing not just diastasis, but low back pain, rib flare, incontinence and so much more! Understanding where they all are as well as what they do is vital information in your postpartum healing journey.
The Pelvic Floor: The Connection to the Deep Core
The pelvic floor is essentially the base of the deep core. Similar to the layering of deep core muscles discussed above, the pelvic floor also has an internal to external layering system as well. Again, for all of my visual learners, it can be SOOO helpful to be able to see where the muscles are located in order to improve that mind-to-muscle connection.
First, let’s start with a side view of the organs that the pelvic floor works to support. Mostly, you want to take note of the bladder, uterus and rectum that fall between the pubic bone in the front and the sacrum and tailbone in the back.
Again, my program includes video where this is covered in more detail and allows you to visualize these things a little bit better!
Pelvic Floor Muscles: Layering From the Most External to the Most Internal
There are 3 layers of muscles to the pelvic floor with each working together with similar (but slightly different) actions.
This is the very first layer of the pelvic floor…imagine that you are looking from the ground UP!
Bulbocavernosus - muscle around vaginal opening
External Anal Sphincter - muscle around anal opening
Superficial Transverse - muscle running straight across from ischial spine to ischial spine
Ischiocavernosus - muscle at the very front running across pelvic bone
This represents the second and third layer of the pelvic floor…imagine this time that you are looking DOWN into the pelvic bowl.
Pubovaginalis - supports lateral wall of pelvis
Levator Ani - supports the pelvic and abdominal organs. This particular muscle group is VERY important!**
Puvorectalis
Pubucoccygeus
Iliococcygeus
Obturator Internus - rotates the leg externally (out) and stabilizes the head of the femur (hip joint).
Ischiococcygeus - supports pelvic organs and helps pull the tailbone forward (can also aid in controlling urination and bowel movements).
Piriformis - external rotation, abduction and extension of the hip (basically kicking leg back and out). When the hip is flexed, it helps to pull the leg OUT to the side (think sitting and pulling the knees out against a band). Also aids in stabilizing the hip.
All of these muscles are important for healing from birth and pelvic dysfunction - whether that be painful intercourse, prolapse, diastasis recti, low back pain, persistent hip pain, and so many other things. The pelvic floor MUST be considered and evaluated for these types of dysfunctions in order to have a complete and thorough assessment. So knowing what is all "down there" can help you visualize WHY you might be having the dysfunction and WHY it is so important to not only address the pelvic floor but also connect to it!
Are Kegels the Only Option??
Short answer - nope!
Kegels are simply a pelvic floor contraction. There is a whole section in my program on kegels to get you started with the foundational work and understanding when to and when NOT to utilize the kegel.
But to go into a little more depth on that, kegels are not the fix all. And in fact, they may actually do you more harm than good. The reason for that being that a lot of us actually have an overly TIGHT pelvic floor, so simply doing more kegels is only going to lead to further tightness and tone and likely exacerbate the issue. A hypertonic muscle will need lengthening and relaxing to improve, not strengthening and tightening (which is the purpose of a kegel).
Now if this blows your mind, stay with me for a second here, because I also want to bring up the fact that just because your pelvic floor is overly tight, it DOES NOT mean that it is strong. Quite the opposite, actually. Most of the time, a tight muscle is typically also a WEAK muscle. When a muscle is in a chronic tense/shortened state, the muscle cannot contract fully due to the lack of full range of motion. Without the ability to get a good, full contraction, the muscle is not going to get stronger. This is why the kegel is not a fix all - the pelvic floor will oftentimes need relaxation and lengthening to gain back full range of motion and reduce hypertonicity before attempting to strengthen it.
Why Does Any of This Matter for Postpartum Healing??
As I alluded to in the beginning of this blog post, the mind to muscle connection is a crucial piece in the healing process. In order to heal the muscles that were most affected during pregnancy and childbirth, we have to intentionally connect to them and activate them in different positions and with different loads and stressors. Diaphragmatic breathing is one of the first steps in this process!
Once the foundational work of diaphragmatic breathing and that connection is mastered, we can apply it to core work, full body movements and our functional daily activities. And again, this is something I will guide you through step-by-step in my Mind Body Core program, where you can click below to purchase now!
I hope this helps to demystify the pelvic floor a little bit for you and also help improve understanding of some of the foundational aspects of the deep core muscles, layering and function of those muscles along with the pelvic floor!
