Don’t Squat When You Pee: Pelvic Floor Health

We all know that feeling of dread having to use a public restroom. It’s just festering with bacteria and who knows what other icky things. You try to touch as few surfaces as humanly possible. This includes your bottom, especially if you sit down to urinate, so you practice your squat or hover to urinate, therefore, avoiding touching the toilet seat. I hate to tell you this, but this is actually bad for your pelvic floor health.

The majority of the day, your pelvic floor is tonically contracted. There are only a few times that your pelvic floor should completely relax: when you urinate or when you defecate. When you hover and don’t actually sit on the toilet, your pelvic floor is still contracted. If you do this consistently, you could be training your pelvic floor to contract when it is actually supposed to relax. This can create pelvic floor dysfunction or exacerbate symptoms if you’re already experiencing some. So, grab the toilet cover or put down some toilet paper, and sit your bottom down when using the bathroom!