Mama L’s Story with Mom Butt, Weak Glutes, and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Mama L was 7 weeks postpartum with baby # 5 when I first met her. She didn’t have any specific complaints, like back pain, ab separation, or leaking pee with activity. The biggest reason she came to see me for help was because she felt like this pregnancy really did her in. She felt weak, she felt more tired this time. She was always really active with her first four pregnancies, going to the gym multiple times a week, taking care of her kiddos, and going on hiking adventures with her friends and family. She had some mild bleeding early in her pregnancy, to which her doctor told her she should stop working out- so she did. She stopped a lot of activity after that. She slowly started getting weaker and weaker. All of a sudden, she was postpartum and she felt as if she had aged 10 years in a matter of 10 months!

During her Empowered Mama Assessment, we didn’t find any of the really big issues you would expect someone to have after going through 5 pregnancies and 5 births- diastasis recti, urinary incontinence or prolapse, for example. What we did find is abdominal and deep core weakness, a really tight and painful pelvic floor when we did an internal vaginal exam (which is why her attempts at sex postpartum were a bit uncomfortable), and super weak glutes- the muscles that make up the booty. 

Why are Glutes a big deal?

As Mama L would soon learn, there are 3 main sets of muscles that make up the butt- the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. Translated: Basically the biggest glutes, the medium sized glutes, and the smallest glutes, but in latin. All together they provide stability and strength for the pelvis and lower body, but they also provide a strong stable base for the abdominal muscles to work off of- which means they are super important for the spine, preventing and treating low back pain, and generally feeling like jello in the postpartum period. 

To avoid dysfunctional glutes you need:

• proper strength training

• strength at or above the level of your activities

• good coordination

• good mobility

If all of the above is satisfied, the glutes will do a fantastic job of supporting:

• pelvis- so that the joints where the pelvic bones come together feel safe, supported, and happy

• pelvic floor- so that the pelvic floor muscles don’t become tight & painful from getting overworked trying to do the job of the glutes for pelvic stability. This is where the problem was for Mama L!

• abdominal organs like the uterus, bladder, and rectum- because it’s the pelvic floor’s job to support these organs, but the pelvic floor is unable to do this job properly if it’s trying to do the glute’s job too!

• low back- scratch that- the ENTIRE spine, setting you up for good posture from the bottom up, because when glutes are strong they support good pelvic position. When the pelvis is in a good position, the low back is in good position, which means the upper back has good posture, then the shoulders roll back in good posture, and the neck finally follows. Are you starting to see how it’s all connected? All this from having Bomb Glutes!

• Knees, ankle & feet- because guess what affects the position of your knees? Your glutes play a huge role in the position of your knees. When your knees are set up correctly, it’s easier for the ankles and feet to follow as well. Again, it’s all connected.

• Shoulders, elbows, wrists- when glutes set your spine up with good posture, shoulders tend to roll back, opening up the chest a bit more, putting shoulders in an open position that doesn’t pinch the rotator cuff muscles, leaves room for nerves to follow their path without being compressed, which gives you happy elbows & wrists too!

It is literally ALL connected and having awesome glutes is the foundation for having a strong healthy body.

How Pregnancy Affects Your Glute Muscles

When a Mama becomes pregnant, it honestly is one of the most beautiful periods of life. Obviously, sometimes it’s unexpected, and even unwanted at times, sometimes sought after for years, but looking at human & social history- It’s kind of amazing what the female human body is capable of. We literally give our own cells to create a whole new being! We are able to create a child, and therefore a family. Although beautiful- the process can also be really difficult. Growing an entire baby is some hard work! Am I right?! Can I educate you for a second about what ACTUALLY happens to your body and more specifically your glutes during pregnancy? 

Yes? 

OK!

 In the few weeks and months after that first positive pregnancy test, additional hormones are flowing through your body, supporting the viability of the pregnancy itself, but also eventually creating some “ligamentous laxity” or extra flexibility in the ligaments holding your joints together. If there’s too much joint laxity, or not enough stability for the joint, this causes problems with your body’s sense of safety- AKA your nervous system (nerves & brain). Your abdominal muscles also start to stretch out due to a growing baby, and therefore, a growing tummy. Your adorable belly starts to protrude forward with a mind of its own. One day, you realize your posture has changed. One of 2 things happens. You either develop “swayback posture” or “excessive lordosis”. Both are compensations for the growing weight and mass of our cute little pregnant bellies/babies. Swayback is when you push your hips forward, and your glutes are shortened past the point of recognition, where once shortened enough, they turn off. Excessive lordosis is a super boring term meaning that you have too much curve in your low back, which makes your butt stick out excessively. This translates to your glutes being lengthened too much, which ALSO turns them off. NOT GREAT! 

Either way, your glutes are turning off during your pregnancy, which does NOT serve your postpartum recovery well. 

In Mama L’s case, her weak glutes she developed from pregnancy were not supporting her pelvis the way they should have. Her nervous system didn’t like that feeling of instability very much, so her brain went and solved that problem for her (kind of), by recruiting her pelvic floor muscles to be overactive, attempting to do the job of her glutes for pelvic stability. This led to overworked pelvic floor muscles that were painful to touch, painful with penetration, too tight, and had multiple “muscle knots” that needed releasing. 

Luckily for Mama L, this was a pretty quick fix once she had the right guidance. After implementing the Empowered Mama Method to get her glutes, core, spine, nervous system, and other muscles set up right, she started to feel like herself again! She was better able to take care of her newborn and older 4 kiddos, her pelvic floor was finally able to chill out, sex felt better so she could connect with her hubby without pain, and she was even able to start up her regular exercise routine that she had been missing.

Preventing Mom Butt during Pregnancy

As you can see, having weak glutes can really mess you up in so many ways. Pregnant Mamas are more likely to develop these issues because of growing bellies & postural changes, but that does NOT need to be the narrative. Implementing the right training before & during pregnancy gives you your best chances of completely circumventing all those dysfunctions that come with weak glutes. I absolutely love it when a Mama comes to see me DURING pregnancy, so I have the chance to teach her The Empowered Mama Method before things get too bad. It’s so much easier to fix the problem before it’s been going on for 9 months. We are able to properly train her body to be able to successfully support her pregnancy, giving her a more comfortable pregnancy, and an easier postpartum recovery.

If this blog article hit you right in the feels, or awoke something in you that calls you to a higher, better way of living, without pain, without restriction- then schedule an ALWAYS FREE phone consult to see if we’re a good fit for each other and if we can help you along your Empowered Mama Journey.

As always, 

Keep It Up Mama!