Wealden Times | WT188 | October 2017 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Tone Up!
Wealden Times asked Kent Health and Beauty Awards
Personal Trainer of the Year, Sarah Maxwell, why she places
such importance on post-pregnancy pelvic floor exercises…
The most important thing you can do
during the first few days after giving birth
are pelvic floor exercises. These muscles
come under great strain during pregnancy
and childbirth, so it’s vital to start the
exercises as soon as possible. Even if you
have bruises or stitches, they’ll help you heal
more quickly by improving circulation to
the area and reducing swelling and bruising.
What is the pelvic floor? The pelvic floor
is a hammock of muscles that supports your
lower organs. Just like any other muscles,
your pelvic floor is weakened by childbirth,
ageing, high impact exercise and obesity, so
exercising it is a vital element in retaining
core strength. These pelvic muscles also play
an important role in bladder control (the
ability to hold urine and not leak). This
is a much more common problem than
many of us realise, with 7 out of 10 people
experiencing pelvic floor problems.
How do I exercise my pelvic floor?
• Start by squeezing and drawing in the
muscles around your back passage and your
vagina at the same time. You should have a
sense of lifting every time you do this.
• Hold them strong and tight, count
to 3, then let them go and relax.
• Repeat the squeeze and release 10
times with 5 seconds rest in between.
• Each day, gradually increase
the length of time you are holding
to a maximum of 10 seconds.
• Build up to 3x10 sets of squeezes
every day. Make sure you rest for
Hydrotherm Massage
The Hydrotherm massage is ideal for
expectant mothers because the entire
treatment is carried out lying on your back
or side and at an incline to protect the baby.
The massage takes place on two large,
warm water-filled cushions placed on top
of a regular massage couch, to support the
spine. With knees slightly raised, and hands
resting below the cushions to encourage the
body to relax, the masseuse’s hands work
between the plastic water-filled cushion
and the client’s back. The sense of the body
moving with the water is very relaxing –
not unlike the sensation of a waterbed.
This massage is also good for anyone
a few seconds between each one
because your muscles will get tired.
• Whilst doing pelvic floor exercises, keep
breathing steadily, don’t tighten your
buttocks and keep your thighs relaxed.
• Start by lying down with your knees
raised and feet flat to the floor but,
as your strength increases, there is no
limit to where and what position you
do them in: try standing in the queue
at the supermarket or in the shower.
• I recommend once a week, when urinating,
you try to stop the flow midway. This will
let you know if you are working the correct
muscles and give you an indication of how
your pelvic floor is improving. Don’t try this
more than once a week as holding urine in
regularly could result in a urinary infection.
What should I do if I don’t see any
improvement? In the first few days or
weeks, it’s normal to feel as if nothing is
happening after doing your exercises. Keep
going, the feeling in your pelvic floor will
return and, although you might not be able
to feel it, it will be working. If you find that
after exercising regularly for a few weeks
there is no improvement, please contact your
doctor to talk about it.
Sarah Maxwell teaches regular fitness
classes at her private studio in Cranbrook
Kent and London. She can be contacted
via email sarah@sarahmaxwell.com twitter
@sarahmax100 or mobile 07973
172245. Full details of her courses
can be found at sarahmaxwell.com
who doesn’t feel comfortable lying facedown
on a massage couch as there are no
uncomfortable face holes or cricked necks
and no need to turn over during treatment.
I had my Hydrotherm massage at
Restoring Health in Chart Sutton and
benefits included a great night’s sleep
and sense of wellbeing plus significant
relief from a whiplash injury
The Restoring Health team offer
Hydrotherm massages from £45 to
£60 with a senior therapist. They also work
with oncologists and offer this treatment
to certain kinds of cancer patients. Visit
restoring-health.co.uk for more information.
Something for
older ladies...
Benenden Hospital, near
Cranbrook, is offering a
revolutionary new treatment,
The MonaLisa Touch®, which
could transform women’s lives.
Vaginal atrophy is a thinning,
drying and inflammation of the
vaginal walls, which can occur due
to the body having less oestrogen.
Symptoms are often associated
with the menopause, but they
can also occur after breast cancer
treatment. The MonaLisa Touch®
is a non-surgical laser technology
which addresses the symptoms of
vaginal atrophy such as dryness,
burning, vulvar itching and painful
intercourse and is used widely
across the world having treated
more than 20,000 women.
By acting on tissue of the vagina
the laser stimulates the production of
collagen, improving the functioning
of the treated area and restoring
proper blood flow, reversing the
effects of vaginal atrophy.
The treatment is carried out
during three short sessions over a
period of around 18 weeks, each
treatment lasts just a few minutes
and it doesn’t require an anaesthetic.
Many patients report a significant
improvement in symptoms
even after the first session.
To find out more contact
Benenden Hospital’s Private Patient
Office on 01580 242521.