The nameless bottom (and it's not what you think)
We women are accustomed to our anatomy including mysterious parts that are rarely or late in the discussion, or are discussed but not adequately. Health bias has long been denounced (read the latest book on the subject, You're exaggerating, by Blanca (Coll-Vinent and Isabel Muntaner) and women experience and suffer it in our daily lives.
The pelvic floor is one of those unknown parts. I was first told about it when I was thirty years old and because I got pregnant. If not, who knows. And that's despite going to the gym, having been to school, and having routine gynecological checkups. This set of muscles and fibers are extremely important for men and women, but in the case of women, we suffer a greater number of problems if the pelvic floor is too toned or too little. Because both can happen. And it can happen to us with or without pregnancies.
At my gym, for example (which I love!) and at all my friends' gyms, nobody talks to us. And it's key when doing impact or strength exercises. And it doesn't only happen in gyms. Many elite athletes have complained that no one took their pelvic floor into account when training, and they've suffered serious problems (it's estimated that 50% of athletes suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction... that's half!). Because, of course, most trainers are men...
When you get pregnant, you learn Kegel exercises, but also when you become even slightly interested in how to enjoy sex better. And for a time, Chinese balls or vaginal weights became famous for helping tone the muscles. But I'm lucky to have Imma Sust as a friend, and she, based on her experience at the Amantis store on Casanova Street, tells me that too many women want to tone their pelvic floor when they have no idea whether it's necessary or if perhaps it's too toned. Because there's a general lack of knowledge, not only among women themselves, but also among too many gynecologists, who don't talk about it or take it into account.
The day I discovered that there were physiotherapists specializing in the pelvic floor, I was amazed and didn't hesitate to go. But the healthcare system still hasn't fully embraced our needs. For example, mutual insurance companies don't cover menopause rehabilitation (only postpartum). And although public healthcare does provide care, it doesn't provide the same resources as private healthcare. And research in this area is still far too scarce.
There are many women who still don't know the importance of this part of the body. Either because no one has told them and they don't even know how to name it, or because their own health is always at the bottom of the list in certain areas. We've grown up resigned to period pains, childbirth, postpartum, and the apocalyptic symptoms of menopause. Knowing that we can do something—even if it's just asking for help, naming a body part, or speaking up and demanding more care and research—is a huge step.
