How Does Hip Posture, Fascia, and Pelvic Floor Physiology Contribute to Constipation?

Your posture, pelvic floor muscles, fascia, and hip alignment play significant roles in your digestive health. Proper posture keeps your internal organs aligned, allowing your digestive tract to function more effectively, whereas poor posture can basically pinch off your intestines via hypertrophy of muscles, shortening or thickening fascia, and chronic muscle tension. This was a contributing factor in my constipation, and realigning my hips really helped my pooping and breathing. 

Personally, my hips were tilted forward, which is really common in our chair sitting culture. This was putting tension on my front deep core muscles that, by “recruitment” and over-conditioning was  tensing my pelvic floor muscles and putting a constant squeeze on my colon and rectum, slowing gut motility, and making it physically difficult to poop. I was able to correct this in a few weeks with the proper posture alignment exercises.

Key Takeaways

• Posture affects flow in the digestive tract and bowel function.
• Pelvic floor strength and flexibility are vital for easy pooping.
• Hip alignment influences the ease of bowel movements.
• Specific exercises can improve all of these.

Basics of Posture and Its Role in Digestive Health

When you stand and move with correct posture, your internal organs have support and “working room”, and are able to relax as needed, supporting efficient digestion.

Your pelvis is the base for correct posture and, when well-aligned, helps balance abdominal organs, including those critical for digestion. A misaligned pelvis could disrupt this balance, causing internal tension, and potentially leading to constipation.

The psoas muscles are core muscles connecting the lumbar spine to the pelvis and leg and via fascia to the diaphragms. This muscle influences your posture and abdominal pressure. When tight or imbalanced, it could alter pelvic alignment, restrict breathing, and pinch off bowel movements.Yikes! This is one of my issues and I still practice some exercises to balance my posture when I feel out of whack. 

By improving your posture, you're helping your digestive system perform at its best. If you sit a lot, get up and move at regular intervals. I got a standing desk to enforce that on myself and, a side benefit,  I find I stay awake at work better! If you stand a lot, make sure to take frequent breaks by sitting, laying, or walking. Standing in one spot for long periods can also lead to posture dysfunctions. We are supposed to move, a lot, and through our full range of motion. A balance of movement and rest, and a variety of positions will help prevent bad posture. 

Pelvic Floor Physiology and Constipation

Your pelvic floor muscles play a crucial role in bowel movements. These muscles form a sling-like structure that supports your bladder, inner parts of sex organs, and your rectum. They also make up a diaphragm that moves with your breathing, massages your colon and pumps lymph when you walk. I think this is important stuff! Normally, your pelvic floor muscles work in harmony with the rectum and anus, allowing stool to pass.

Constipation can occur when this coordination is disrupted. If your pelvic floor muscles are too tense, they may not relax sufficiently to allow for an easy bowel movement. On the other hand, weakened pelvic floor muscles might be inadequate in providing the necessary support for bowel movements, which can lead to difficulties in passing stool as well. This condition is known as pelvic floor dysfunction. Straining to poop can cause damage to the pelvic floor muscles and fascia support system. [Pelvic Health Physio]

Practicing specific pelvic floor exercises can help maintain the strength, flexibility, and coordination of these muscles. A coordinated pelvic floor helps reduce constipation by ensuring that the necessary muscles contract and relax as they should during a bowel movement.

If you're experiencing constipation, pelvic floor dysfunction might be playing a part. Diagnosis from a physical therapist is the only way to be sure. They can give you the exact exercises you need to correct it.

Hip Position and The Smooth #2

Understanding your hip anatomy and its role in bowel movement mechanics is helpful in correcting constipation. The hip joint functions as a connector between your torso and legs, supporting the weight of your upper body. Its position and tilt angle can be centered or forward, backward, left, right, or a combo.

• Flexion and Extension: These movements involve your thigh moving forward and backward, which impact abdominal pressure and pelvic floor muscles.
• When you squat, for instance, your hips flex. This position can help straighten your recto-anal angle, making it easier for stool to pass through the anal canal.
• Rotation: Inward and outward rotation of the thigh affects the tension of the pelvic floor muscles.

A squatting position can facilitate an easier bowel movement by aligning the pelvic organs and muscles in a way that promotes the passage of stool. This was the common position employed by most humans until the invention of the indoor toilet. Beginning of the end if you ask me… Anyway, if you want to get that ol’ time squat poop feelin’ check out the squatty potty stools available here or on Amazon.

Fast Talk About Fascia

Fascia, the connective tissue that encases muscles and organs, can have an impact on constipation in several ways. Restrictions in the fascia around the bowels can cause constipation by squeezing off the tube, like when you kink a garden hose to slow the flow of water.. Additionally, a study on PubMed suggests that myofascial trigger points in the abdominal and lumbopelvic muscles may be associated with constipation, indicating that tension in these areas could contribute to bowel movement difficulties. Fascial Counterstrain therapy suggests that a dysfunctional digestive system, which can include symptoms like constipation, may be related to fascial problems. Addressing fascial health may be an important aspect of treating and managing constipation.

So how do we release fascia? Compression and movement helps loosen these tissues, which is easy if we are talking about your biceps or thigh muscles, but how do you compress and move gut fascia? This is where the intestine pump exercises come in.

In the Get Pooping course we practice exercises to tone and relax the pelvic floor muscles and fascia, and align the hips, for better bowel movements. Always consult your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program.