"Normal" degree of pelvic floor tension

[kevin]

During day-to-day activities (e.g. walking, exercising, sitting), how tense should the pelvic floor be? Is it supposed to be completely relaxed, all the time? Or is there a normal degree of tension?

Kevin

[alprost]

The pelvic floor works continually throughout the day and is involved in all of the activities you mention to some extent. Therefore, strictly speaking, there is always a certain amount of pelvic tension. The problem in chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome therefore is excess tension.

Certain biofeedback sources give norm vaues for resting tesnsion etc, but I personally don't feel that these are of much practical value to chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome sufferers. It is much more important, IMHO, to be aware of the difference between pelvic floor relaxation and contraction. If you know this, and 'check in' with your pelvic floor throughout the day, you should be able to feel if your pelvic floor is switching on or not.

A good guide would be if, at random points during the day, you 'let go' of your pelvic floor as you would to initiate urination, and feel some relaxation, you have probably been tensing your pelvic floor and creating excess tension. If this is the case, breaking this habit should be a major goal of treatment. Doing the 'moment to moment' paradoxical relaxtion througout the day is the cornerstone of this.