Hi! I’m Tori, and I’m a doctor of physical therapy who specializes in
pelvic dysfunction, which means I treat things that can go wrong around the pelvis,
and this includes different kinds of sexual dysfunction.
Today I want to talk about orgasm and its relationship to the pelvic floor—more
specifically, how orgasm can be improved by addressing pelvic floor dysfunction.
In order to make sense of this, it’s important to understand how orgasm relates to the pelvic floor
in the first place. So we’ll begin there, before discussing how dysfunction can impact
orgasm and potential treatment options—but before we do, a word from today’s sponsor!
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for sponsoring today’s video. If you’re familiar with my content, you know that I’ve not only
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Thank you again, IntiMD, for sponsoring today’s video.
As always, you can find timestamps as well as links to studies or resources mentioned today
in the description below and, without further adieu, let’s get into it!
So, how does orgasm relate to the pelvic floor? Well,
an orgasm is actually the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles!
If we pretend that this is my pelvis, where my pubic bone is here facing you,
and my sacrum and tailbone are here, facing away from you, the pelvic floor
is a group of muscles that live at the base of the pelvis—they connect, like a hammock,
from pubic bone to tailbone, and they serve a number of important functions
in the body—including orgasm! (I will be using a bony pelvic model to describe the pelvic floor)
Now, your pelvic floor is just like any other group of muscles, which is to say that its
range of motion—it’s ability to shorten or contract, and lengthen or stretch—plays a big
role in its ability to function. If we pretend that the pelvic floor is my bicep, then it’s
much easier to visualize and appreciate not only its range of motion, but also its role in orgasm!
Imagine that this is my pelvic floor at rest, this a pelvic floor contraction,
or a Kegel, back to rest, and this is pelvic floor relaxation or lengthening,
sometimes called a reverse-Kegel, back to rest. It is that full spectrum of movement,
from full contraction to full relaxation, that defines range of motion. Now,
during sexual excitement leading up to orgasm, the pelvic floor will tense, reach a tipping point,
and then rhythmically contract and relax during orgasm, usually followed by a big relax.
If we pair that understanding of range of motion
with our understanding of what happens leading up to and during an orgasm,
then we can start to make a lot more sense of how pelvic floor dysfunction might impact orgasm.
One way to simplify pelvic conditions is to group them based on how they likely affect
range of motion—which is to say, on one end of the spectrum, we’d see shorter, tighter pelvic floor
muscles that are almost stuck at the top of their range, or have an impaired ability to relax and
lengthen. And, on the other end of the spectrum, we’d see longer, laxer pelvic floor muscles that
are almost stuck at the bottom of their range, or have an impaired ability to contract or shorten.
In either scenario, the muscles are weak! A muscle needs access to its full range of motion
in order to be strong. If you want to feel this phenomenon in your own body,
you can try the following exercise with me in real time.
Find a somewhat heavy object, like a full water bottle, and lift it up.
Again focusing on biceps, notice that when you lift an object, you automatically use quite a bit
of your biceps’ range of motion. Compare what it feels like to lift this item when you have
access to that full range, versus when you only have access to the very bottom of your range,
or to the very top. In either case, the object feels heavier and lifting it is more difficult.
That’s because, again, a muscle needs access to its full range of motion in order to be strong,
and it is the pelvic floor’s ability to move through its range paired with its strength that
dictate not only someone’s ability to reach an orgasm, but also the intensity of their orgasm.
If someone’s pelvic floor is shorter, the tensioning of the pelvic floor that occurs leading
up to orgasm may prove more difficult or even cause symptoms—or, if they can reach orgasm,
the orgasm may feel less intense because the floor doesn’t move as much.
On the other hand, if someone’s pelvic floor is longer, they may struggle to create
enough tension to initiate an orgasm or, if they can reach orgasm, again it may feel
less pleasurable—less intense—because the floor’s motion again is limited.
So, how does treating pelvic floor dysfunction improve orgasm? Well, treatment is going to aim to
restore range of motion and strength. If someone’s on the shorter end of the spectrum,
the aim will first be to lengthen and then reassess strength after that person has access
to their full range. If someone’s on the longer end of the spectrum, the aim will first be to
activate the pelvic floor muscles and strengthen them, and then reassess range of motion after
that person has regained some strength.
And, if you have a vulva, dilators, like IntiMD’s VWELL set, can be a helpful treatment tool in
either case, whether the intention is to help someone lengthen and relax the pelvic floor,
or to offer tactile cues to help someone practice activating their pelvic floor.
Look, you are worthy and deserving of a healthy and pleasurable sex life if that’s
something you want—and it is perfectly okay if that includes the ability to
reach an orgasm, the ability to experience a certain intensity of orgasm, or both.
If after watching this video, you feel you may benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy,
check the description for a directory to help you find a provider near you
and, on that note, thank you so much for watching! If you enjoyed this video or found it helpful,
please do give it a thumbs up, and if you didn’t like it, let me know what I can do to improve in
the future. Feel free to comment absolutely anything below—questions you have, feedback,
content suggestions, anything really—I do try really hard to read and respond to
all of my comments. Don’t forget to check me out on instagram and finally if you want to see more
content from me please do consider subscribing to the channel. I make videos about pelvic things,
like today’s video, and I also make videos about life things. Thank you again so much for watching,
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and I will see you in the next video, bye.