Where’s the balance between overtaxing the pelvic floor and not having orgasms at all?

By: Dr. Brianne Grogan, PT, DPT

It's all about balance! Finding the "mighty middle.”

While I certainly wouldn't encourage you to overtax your pelvic floor via excessive orgasm, I also do NOT recommend avoiding orgasm altogether (since it is an important part of your life and your recovery). One of the intentions of the work we do in Overcome is to show your body that it's safe to move through a range of gentle exercises and stretches, and functional activities (like sex and/or orgasm), thereby interrupting the fear-avoidance pain cycle. That being said, it's important to keep the stretches/exercises/functional activities (like sex/orgasm) as comfortable and pain-free as possible so that your body doesn't fight against them. 

As far as orgasm, I recommend intentionally deep breathing (with increased length of exhalation) and doing some quick pelvic floor release work (even just a simple stretch or two) after the fact. As you know, the simple act of extending your exhalation stimulates the vagus nerve, which helps to calm the nervous system and activates a sense of safety and control. 

By finding the balance between over-doing and avoiding, and by caring for your body after orgasm, your body will have the "victory" of completing each orgasm successfully, thus breaking the fear-avoidance cycle of pain. I hope this makes sense!