Hey, Congrats! You Have a Pelvis!

If you are a living, breathing human, you have a pelvis.  But not many of us don't know what our pelvis is…we don’t know what it’s made out of, what’s inside of it, or how it works.

Allow me to step in :) My name is Dr. Kelly Sadauckas, one of a handful of Doctors of Physical Therapy in the world who are double board certified in Pelvic Health and Orthopedics.  (Psst...that means I'm a giant geek!! But luckily, I also like to talk to actual people, and help them understand topics that can be embarrassing or complex!). Today, I’d like to help YOU demystify your pelvis!

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

What do you mean when you say Pelvis? Good Question: What do we mean? 

When we say Pelvis, we could mean 3 things:

1. The Bony Parts

The “bony pelvis” (as we pelvic pros refer to it) is made up of your hip bones (ilium is one hip bone, and ilia are two, for those of you playing Scrabble at home), and your sacrum. Your sacrum is the triangle-shaped bone at the bottom of your back, and it ends in your coccyx, which is the remaining tail parts of our mammalian heritage.  Ever seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite??  There's an AMAZING scene where "Grandma took a spill at the sand dunes...broke her coccyx."  Possibly my favorite pelvic-related movie scene, ever. 

Anyhow...where was I??  Your “hip bones”, or ilia, are actually three bones fused together. Those three bones are the ilia (the big wingy parts), ischium (sit bones) and pubic bones (front crotch bones).  But I won't hold it against you if you simple refer to it as your hip bones and sit bones...and no one else will either :) 

2. The Pelvic Organs (Peritoneal Cavity)

This is the stuff inside the Pelvis, is the "peritoneal cavity".  Try saying that three times fast!!  The stuff inside our pelvis are the ‘lowest’ organs inside our belly.

The kidneys, liver, stomach, etc, live above the Pelvic Region, and the small and large intestines & bladder live in the pelvic cavity of all pelvises. 

The kidneys make pee, ureters carry pee to the bladder, the small intestine is where food is broken down, the large intestine is where poop is made, and the bladder is where pee is stored, are common to all pelvises.  “Pelvic Viscera” is also a fancy term used to describe the organy-stuff that is in here.

But there are "a few" differences that come into play between the two main anatomical variations of humans!!  Let's discuss!!

People with female anatomy also generally have one vagina, one uterus and two ovaries (but there are variations---and if this is you, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!...) and people with penises also have a prostate gland between their bladder and pelvic floor muscles...and people with penises have a bonus sub-basement where the testicles reside--we'll talk about them another time :) 

So we could be talking about pelvic organs, when we speak of the pelvis. ...or...we could be talking about...

3. The Pelvic Muscles and Ligaments

The third thing we could mean when we talk about the pelvis, is our connective tissue! The stuff that holds the bones together, the organs in place, and that moves the stuff around!

The Pelvic Floor Muscles are awesome.  They make this pelvis a three-dimensional bowl, and hold all or our organs in, as well as control what we put in, or let out, of our body. Without the pelvis muscles, our insides would fall out. Frown Face. 

The pelvic ligaments provide passive stability (like braces) to the bony pelvis, and provide a stable base for the muscles to move from. In the pelvis, the ligaments also often carry nerves and blood vessels.

Did you know there is more than one Pelvic Floor Muscle?

Just like you have a left leg and a right leg, and they each have unique muscle control and strength, your pelvic floor muscles have left groups, and right groups–more than 6 per side, actually!  Check out this fun Instagram Reel that I made, which I humbly think explains it pretty well :) 

Did you know that each of these muscles all have unique functions?

Some of these muscles work to constrict (close) the urethra (pee hole), some to constrict (close) the poop hole (anus), some pull the tailbone toward your pubic bone, and others scoop and lift the whole shebang of pelvic floor, like tightening up a trampoline or a hammock. If you didn't check out that last link, here it is again, if you're interested in seeing this.  It's worth it, I promise!!

And all of these individual and unique muscles work together to control 2-3 very delicate openings, as well as affect our overall digestion, stress and athletic prowess?!?!   It's amazing it ever works in the first place, folks!  Thus it shouldn't be surprising, that these small, but vital, pelvic muscles have the potential to wreak such havoc!!  

Changes in how the pelvic muscles function can lead to pee, poop and seggsy time problems!

Dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles themselves, and in how we coordinate (or use) the pelvic muscles along with other muscle groups in our day to day lives, leads to pee, poop or seggsy time problems. 

 And yes, if you’ve been around my site for more than a minute, you’ve noticed that the primary way that pelvic floor muscles cause problems is NOT that they are loose and flimsy and weak…but that they are actually too tight all the time , and therefore not healthy and weak.

This blog post is the tip of the iceberg, and introduces you to your pelvis, potentially for the first time.  If you’re new here, and struggling, go ahead and give your pelvis (or vag, or rectum, or whatever is bothering you), a name, so we can talk to them directly as we proceed.

The most important thing for you to know is that whatever your pee, poop or seggsy time problem is, you are not alone, and you are not permanently broken.  There are real muscles involved here, just like muscles are involved in low back pain, and it is worth investing your time and energy to reconnecting those muscles to your brain.  YOU DESERVE THE PELVIS OF YOUR DREAMS.

Thanks for Reading!

Ready to learn more?!  Let’s check out this blog post on Everything You Never Knew About Your Pelvic Floor Muscles! 

Thanks for reading! If you haven't already, please join my mailing list  to be kept up to date on practical tips for improving your pelvic (and overall) health!  Mailing list subscribers also get FIRST NOTICE and BEST DEALS on Pelvic Floored products, as well as access to subscriber only events!

Xoxo -Dr. Kelly

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