New Year, New You: 3 Resolutions for Better Pelvic Health in 2026
Jan 15, 2026
Your pelvic floor likely does far more than you realize.
The muscles in your pelvis work nonstop to support your sexual organs, bladder, colon, and rectum. If these muscles are too tight or too loose, you can experience issues such as urinary incontinence, painful urination, pelvic organ prolapse (a condition where the uterus or bladder drops and creates a sense of pressure), and pain during sex.
Various factors can impact the strength and health of your pelvis, including pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. If symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction impact your life regularly, you may want to consider making your pelvic health a priority in 2026.
Karen Mass, MD, FACOG, and the rest of the team of women’s health experts at Women’s Specialty Care in Lake Forest and Grayslake, Illinois, want you to know that you don’t have to deal with poor pelvic health indefinitely. We offer three ways to restore optimal pelvic health this coming year in this month’s blog.
If your pelvic issues are fairly mild, making some lifestyle changes can help eliminate or reduce symptoms such as chronic constipation or urine leaks.
Lifestyle changes that encourage optimal pelvic health include:
The more you focus on maintaining your overall physical health, the more your pelvic health will also improve.
Your pelvic floor is a muscle, and the more that you train it and use it properly, the stronger and more efficient it becomes. One pelvis-strengthening method that you’ve likely heard of is Kegels. Kegel exercises are incredibly effective at strengthening and re-training the muscles in your pelvic floor.
To do Kegel exercises, start by locating your pelvic floor muscles, which can be done by pretending that you’re tightening your vagina around a tampon. Once you’ve located these muscles, practice contracting them while sitting and standing, being careful not to use any other muscles. Contract them for a few seconds and then relax. Repeat for four sets of ten.
Our team can also recommend experts in pelvic floor physical therapy to complement these strength training exercises.
If your pelvic floor issues include unexplained bleeding or pelvic pain, more drastic measures might be necessary. Our team can perform a physical exam and ultrasound to gather necessary information for what’s causing your symptoms.
In the cases of uterine fibroids, heavy menstrual bleeding, or endometriosis management, surgical treatments such as fibroid removal, endometrial ablation, or a hysteroscopy might be necessary to relieve symptoms and address the underlying cause. Most of these procedures are minimally invasive and offer benefits that are worth undergoing surgery.
To learn more about how we can partner with you for better pelvic health in 2026, simply call your nearest office location, or use our online booking feature to schedule a consultation with us.