Introduction to the Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) are a group of muscles spanning layers across the base of the pelvic outlet in both males and females. The female pelvic outlet is wider than in males, and it is intersected by an additional orifice – the vagina. Therefore, females rely on the integrity and function of this anatomical region in order to achieve the functional roles of the pelvic floor, which include i) bladder and bowel continence, ii) bladder and bowel elimination, iii) pelvic organ support and iv) sexual function (Donnelly and Moore, 2023).

The pelvic floor is made up of 66% slow-twitch fibres and 34% fast-twitch twitch. They are in a state of constant muscular activity and respond to load demands and bodily movement in an anticipatory and reflexive manner (Donnelly and Moore, 2023). Like other areas of the body, strength and conditioning helps to improve the load capacity of the structure and region. Therefore, all female athletes should be engaging in focused pelvic floor muscle training from early teens upwards (NICE_Guideline, 2021, Donnelly and Moore, 2023).