An ideal bowel routine means you are emptying your bowel at least once per day. Your bowel motion should be well formed, in one piece and easy to pass. You should feel satisfied without the need to push or strain.
Signs and symptoms of bowel issues
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Do you sit on the toilet for long periods of time, pushing and straining?
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Do you feel like you haven’t fully emptied your bowels? You want to do more but you can’t?
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Do you experience abdominal pain or bloating?
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Do you have to wipe more than once? Is there a lot of smearing on the toilet paper?
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Have you ever leaked some poop out?
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Do you hold onto your poop all day and resist the urge because you don’t want to go in a public space?
Common causes of bowel issues
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Poor pooping posture - Ideally we should have a stool underneath our feet to help relax our pelvic floor muscles
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Tight pelvic floor muscles
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Pregnancy and breastfeeding
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Medications and supplements
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Hormonal imbalances such as thyroid issues
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Nervous system
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Dehydration
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Dietary issues such as poor digestion, lack of fibre, malabsorption
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Irritable bowel disease such as Crohn’s and Colitis
How can we help?
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Improve your toilet posture
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Utilising breath and visualisation techniques on the toilet
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Visceral treatment to the digestive system
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Myofascial release to the pelvic floor
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Hydration
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Nutritional support
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Optimising a healthy bowel routine
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Bowel retraining
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Exercises to lengthen and relax the pelvic floor
Our Osteopaths work very closely with our Exercise Physiologist who is extensively trained in pelvic health. Exercise Physiology helps to integrate your pelvic floor exercises into more functional movements to get you back living a healthier and more independent life!