Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Adult diapers: are you in? (know someone who is)

I think it's pretty clear that anyone who's outgrown them, does not want to return to wearing diapers.  Yet there are football and tv stars advertising them on tv in primetime:  expensive time.  That means the market for this item is BIG.

So many of us spend lives with our butt permatucked (a technical term) and it ain't natural.  Gentlemen and women, influenced by a 'civilized' culture, that sticking your bottom out isn't done, "tuck" them and in so doing set off a chain reaction of tension traveling throughout the body.  Think: tossing a pebble in pond.

Sitting for long periods of time [all day?] [got an hour commute to add to that on either end] exacerbates the situation.  Your hamstrings are way tight, (another technical term) from being asked to do nothing all day long, and while seated, the weight of your torso is jamming that sacrum in from the bottom. We're designed to sit on our ischial tuberosities, where the sacrum can assume its natural position.

So you say, "what's the big deal, I'll do my downward dog, and stretch those hamstrings, all right already."  Sure.  But your pelvic floor is muscle and it's the only thing keeping your guts up inside you and not falling out on the floor. Your PF is attached to different spots in the pelvis, one of which moves: the sacrum.  If it's jammed in on the bottom, there's slack in the PF muscles created only by the narrowing the obstetric conjugate (the shape is slightly different in men, but is the functionally the same). The PF muscle which used to be serviceable is now hanging like a hammock.  The muscles shorten and tighten in an effort to remain structurally useful, yet if the angle is extreme, you're out of control.


Your doctor (who's likely forgotten any of the biomechanics he/she may have studied in college) recommends kegels to you, so you can strengthen your pelvic floor, failing to realize that the tissues are weak not because they're lazy, but because they are not physically able to shorten any more than they already have.   Not too loose: too tight! 

Your entire body is amazing and it moves just as you ask it to.   Were we a people who squatted for toilet affairs we would not have these issues.  The places in the world where people still squat for eliminations have no need of diapers.  And they're definitely not tucked, as the tucked squatter sends their business between their feet (and those desiring to leave some items behind will be UNtucking their pelvis, no?) 

Developing your ability to squat and stick your tail out (and one ought to be able to maintain this position for as long as is necessary) will restore their obstetric conjugate to its natural ratio/relationship to the rest of the pelvis and your pelvic floor will (magically) be able to function normally once again.

Surgery doesn't work for long, so if you're dealing with pelvic floor issues your choice is simple.  Start asking your rear end to behave naturally or start shopping for diapers.

And if I've piqued your interest in restoring your body to its natural vibrant state, come see me or my colleagues in lovely Pt. Richmond for classes in Restorative Exercise.  And if you're not nearby, don't worry.  There is much instruction available on line, a line of DVDs, a great book on Fixing your Feet (they're where the rubber meets the road) all available at www.alignedandwell.com



1 comment:

  1. I have no idea what adult diapers are until mom needs them. Proved to be extremely useful when she goes out with me and not having to stop at 7-11 to pee. However, over the recent months, we've been looking into a surgical options for her incontinence but had to draw back when we bumped this a report about transvaginal mesh lawsuit. Can you shed light on this? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete