The major function of the pelvic floor, according to Balogun, is the coordination of the pelvic, bowel, bladder and sexual activities.
She warned that if anything goes wrong with the pelvic floor, it could lead to the collapse of organs around it.
According to Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit, multispecialty academic medical centre, pelvic floor dysfunction is the inability to correctly relax and coordinate pelvic floor muscles to have a bowel movement.
“Symptoms include constipation, straining to defecate, having urine or stool leakage and experiencing a frequent need to urinate. If you are a woman, you may also feel pain during sex, and if you are a man, you may have problems having or keeping an erection (erectile dysfunction). Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles found in the floor (the base) of your pelvis”, the centre stated.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise during an awareness programme on pelvic floor dysfunction in both men and women, organised by the NGO in Lagos recently, Balogun, who is the founder of ‘Healthy Living for All People’, urged Nigerians having challenges with their pelvic to seek help from experts.
She said, “Pelvic floor dysfunction is the dysfunction of the pelvic region, which means that there is a discoordination of the pelvic. It means the pelvic floor is not working the way it should.
“Within the pelvic floor, there are so many organs that can be affected. This is why it is key for every woman and man out there to understand that their pelvic floor is important because it houses multiple organs. Some of these organs include the penis and prostate. Prevention is better than cure.”
Balogun further noted that regular examination of the pelvic could lead to early detection of prostate cancer in men and cervical cancer in women, warning that anyone could develop pelvic floor dysfunction at any time.
Balogun added, “If pelvic floor dysfunction is left untreated, it can start with urinary leakage for women, constipation and then the organs can start collapsing.
“No woman or man is immune to pelvic floor dysfunction. There is a myth out there that when pelvic floor is mentioned, most people think about pregnant women or women that just had babies. If you are a mother and you have had your babies many years ago, you still have to take care of your pelvic.”
Continuing, she said, “The major function of the pelvic floor is the coordination of the pelvic itself; the coordination of the bowel, bladder, and sexual activities. It is not only women that have bowel and bladder. So, both men and women need to be aware on a daily basis of the importance of the function of the pelvic floor.
“Men need to be aware that pelvic issue is not a woman’s thing. Though, women have more of the problem because they have extra organs for reproduction. However, a lot of men have pelvic problems and they suffer in silence.”
Balogun urged the federal and state governments to urgently begin massive awareness creation on pelvic floor dysfunction in the country so that those battling with the condition can seek appropriate care.
In a 2018 Ethiopian study published in the peer-reviewed BMC, a UK open access journal that focuses on pelvic floor disorders in women, the authors said women in developing countries do not disclose their problems due to associated social stigma or lack of access to services. Hence, the extent of the problem remains largely unknown.
According to the researchers, 20.5 per cent of a total of 3432 women who participated in the study reported one type of pelvic floor disorder.
The study called for urgent action to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment services to mitigate the suffering of women with pelvic floor disorders.
Source: HealthWise
