‘Business’ isn’t just Business: Sex Education and awareness deficits contribute to medical issues
I’d like to destigmatize a part of the body we often ignore: the ever-mysterious pelvic floor. While it shouldn’t be so mysterious, it makes sense that the pelvic floor hasn’t exactly been the leading star of human anatomy. It’s inside our bodies so it is difficult to gain much awareness into what’s going on in there. Without training, it’s hard to feel muscle activation. It's associated with all the topics you've been told not to talk about with others (poop, pee, and sex). It plays a role in extensive functions within the body that most people don’t even realize. While it’s recently become more of a buzzword in health-care and wellness, when in your high school level education have they discussed the pelvic floor? I have minimal recollection of learning female anatomy other than a brief overview of organs and the vulva. When I first became interested in this specialty I felt embarrassed about being a health-care professional and not knowing about my own body. I’m not alone though. Only 17 states require program content to be medically accurate. That does not speak to the depth of information, simply that it is accurate. 26 states require that content is age appropriate, and 9 states mandate that information be culturally appropriate and unbiased. It’s safe to say there’s a reason we feel like the area between our belly button and our thighs is a bit of a no-man’s land. The gap in the education system isn’t our fault. Nonetheless, it has led to a large population of both men and women growing up with a lack of awareness and understanding of that part of their body, which may be contributing to various medical issues and impact their everyday world.
Contrary to many misconceptions of our grandmothers telling us not to slouch and bring our shoulders back, posture is often stemmed from our pelvis rather than our shoulders. Consider the shapes our body takes on throughout the day. We often sit in chairs for long periods, which impact the positioning of our pelvis. Over time, the muscles in and around the pelvis become more fixed and we develop compensatory strategies to optimize function.
The muscles of the pelvic floor are just like any other muscle, they need to be both strong enough to complete resistive activities and have enough mobility to lengthen with ease. We assume business is business ‘down there’ until there’s an issue or a significant shift in our bodies (i.e., pregnancy, surgery, etc).
*Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/sex-and-hiv-education