Hemorrhoids: What They Are and How They Relate To The Pelvic Floor

Hemorrhoids refer to veins around the anus or in the rectum that have become swollen or irritated. These swollen veins can cause bleeding during bowel movements, as well as symptoms of discomfort, irritation, itching, or pain in the area. Hemorrhoids can range in severity. Therefore, you may experience some or all of these symptoms.

While mild hemorrhoids can go away after some time, more severe hemorrhoids can be indicative of a bigger problem. You may even be causing your hemorrhoids without knowing! To make sure you don’t get stuck in a cycle of painful bowel movements, let’s talk about some causes of hemorrhoids and steps you can take to prevent them.

In many of the topics discussed below, you’ll see the pelvic floor mentioned. This is an important part of your body that is located in the pelvis.

It is both directly and indirectly related to hemorrhoids, as the pelvic floor is a group of muscles that allow you to make bowel movements among many other functions. Check out the pelvic floor dysfunction page if you’d like to learn more about your pelvic floor!

Anyone can experience hemorrhoids, and they’re caused by a variety of factors. While aging and genetics can play a role in your likelihood of experiencing hemorrhoids, there are also many other factors that are oftentimes avoidable. Some examples can include:

Improper Lifting

Whether it’s lifting a laundry basket, working with heavy weights at the gym, or playing with your kids at home, the way you lift things is very important. When you lift, your body is engaging a ton of different muscle groups—including the pelvic floor! The pelvic floor has to counteract pressure and straining during these movements, especially when the item you’re lifting is particularly heavy. 

If you have poor posture or muscle activation while lifting, you may be unknowingly causing harm to your pelvic floor and other muscle groups. The repeated movements done in poor form can cause straining and pressure, which takes a toll on the muscles, ligaments, and other important structures of your pelvic floor—resulting in symptoms such as hemorrhoids.

Bathroom Habits

As mentioned before, the pelvic floor controls the continence of your bowels (and bladder). In other words, it allows you to make bowel movements—but if those bowel movements involve a lot of straining, you may be putting a lot of pressure on the veins of your anus and rectum. 

This also means that chronic constipation, sitting too long on the toilet, or frequent diarrhea can also affect those veins, causing irritation, inflammation, and swelling. But what does this have to do with the pelvic floor?

Sometimes the pelvic floor muscles can become uncoordinated or too tight. Tight pelvic floor muscles can make bowel movements difficult, often causing symptoms like constipation. These are signs of a type of pelvic floor dysfunction.

In order to reduce your constipation and allow for better, easier bowel movements (and less hemorrhoids), you may need to work on your pelvic floor.

Actually, all of the causes listed here can affect pelvic floor health. Vice versa, all of these activities need a healthy pelvic floor to be performed effectively (lifting, bowel movements, and childbirth). The big picture here is that the pelvic floor is more important than you may realize!

Pregnancy and Delivery

Pregnancy and vaginal childbirth can both cause or worsen hemorrhoids. This is because the pelvic floor is put under immense pressure during both of these events. The rectum and anus are interconnected with the pelvic floor, and therefore are impacted by the pressure experienced during pregnancy and the straining associated with childbirth.

Unlike the other examples, pregnancy or childbirth isn’t exactly a daily habit. So what can you do to avoid or treat hemorrhoids in this case? Pelvic floor physical therapy! Not only can physical therapy prepare your entire pelvic floor for pregnancy and childbirth for a smoother experience (and postpartum healing), but it can also prevent the likelihood of hemorrhoids and other painful symptoms.

As you may have gathered from the causes of hemorrhoids described above, the pelvic floor plays a major role in preventing hemorrhoids. While there are topical creams out there designed for treating hemorrhoids, it is important to get to the root of the issue, especially if you experience painful or frequent hemorrhoids.

Additionally, if you have frequent constipation or other symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, you’ll definitely want to consider pelvic floor physical therapy!

With the help of a pelvic floor physical therapist like myself, you can get your pelvic floor back in great shape. I’ve worked with many, many patients over the years and have undergone extensive training and education so that I can help people with pelvic floor conditions like hemorrhoids!

So, what can treatment look like? To start, I’ll want to identify what problems your pelvic floor may have: uncoordinated muscles, tightness, weakness, and so on. I’ll be able to gather this information from a thorough evaluation and examinations if needed—no worries, I’ll never perform any examination or treatment without your consent.

Once I have a clear idea of what your individual needs are, I’ll curate a treatment plan just for you! This will include a variety of exercises, activities, and behavioral modifications that will release tension and build strength in your pelvic floor.

With your bowel troubles alleviated and your pelvic floor back in working order, you’ll experience less hemorrhoid troubles and can get back to living pain-free!

I offer both virtual and in-person sessions for patients of all ages and gender identities. To get started, book an appointment! Or for any additional questions, book a discovery call.