Back to School, Back to Pelvic Health: Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Prioritize Your Pelvic Floor

As the summer winds down and kids head back to school, many parents—especially moms—find themselves with a bit more time to refocus on their own health. It’s a season of new routines, fresh starts, and renewed energy. That makes it the perfect time to bring attention to an often overlooked, but incredibly important aspect of wellness: pelvic health.

Whether you’re postpartum, peri- or postmenopausal, or simply noticing new symptoms that weren’t there before, your pelvic floor plays a foundational role in how your body moves, supports, and functions. From bladder and bowel control to core strength, sexual health, and pain management, the pelvic floor is at the center of it all. And yet, many people live with symptoms like leaking, pressure, pain with intimacy, or a lingering “off” feeling in their core—assuming it’s just something they have to live with.

As a pelvic health physical therapist, I want you to know: those symptoms are common, but not normal. They’re your body’s way of asking for help, and pelvic floor therapy can make a profound difference.

Why Pelvic Health Matters

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sit like a hammock at the base of your pelvis. These muscles work closely with your deep core, diaphragm, and hip stabilizers to support your organs, manage pressure, and provide stability for everyday movement. When these muscles are either too weak, too tight, or not coordinating well with the rest of your body, dysfunction can occur.

Common signs of pelvic floor dysfunction include:

• Leaking with sneezing, coughing, or jumping

• Urgency or frequency with urination

• Pelvic or low back pain

• Pain with intercourse

• Heaviness or pressure in the pelvis

• Difficulty returning to fitness postpartum

Back-to-School Season: A Chance to Reconnect with Yourself

In the hustle of caregiving, work, and daily demands, it’s easy to put your own needs on the back burner. But routines changing in the fall present a unique opportunity. When kids are in school or daycare, even a small window of time can be used to invest in your recovery and long-term well-being.

Pelvic floor therapy goes beyond Kegels. It involves a full-body approach to assess how your posture, breathing, habits, and movement patterns are affecting your pelvic floor. Treatment is always tailored to your body and your goals—whether that’s being able to jump on a trampoline again, get through a workout without leaking, or simply feel more at home in your body.

Take the First Step

If you’ve been dealing with nagging symptoms or simply want to feel stronger and more supported in your core, now is the time. Think of this season as your own “back-to-school” for the body—an opportunity to relearn, retrain, and restore.

Pelvic health is foundational, and it’s never too late to start. You deserve care that looks at the whole picture and helps you move through life with confidence and ease.

This fall, let’s shift the focus back to you. Your pelvic floor will thank you.