Your Pelvic Floor: Why it’s Important & How to Keep it in Shape

Season 3 • Episode 14
Elaine Miller, Pelvic Health Physiotherapist & Award-Winning Comedian

Do you leak a little bit of urine when you laugh or sneeze or run? Let’s face it, it’s something that’s happened to most of us at some point and statistics show that more than 1 in 3 women struggle with this. It’s called urinary stress incontinence, usually due to a weak pelvic floor, and it’s one of those things we mostly don’t talk about because it’s embarrassing.

This month’s guest is going to help us bust that taboo wide open, because I’m speaking to the fabulous Elaine Miller. She’s a pelvic health physiotherapist and has helped countless women reverse the problem with her clinical support. But she’s also a stand-up comic and has used her comedic talent to create the hilarious Gusset Grippers show, employing humour as a health promotion tool, and going on to win the Fringe World Comedy award in 2020. She’s frank, she’s funny and I’m thrilled that she’s joined us to share her wisdom.

We learn all about the pelvic floor: what it is; where it is; why it’s important; and how to keep it in great shape. Elaine explains some of the factors that can weaken your pelvic floor and we discuss the best ways to manage that.  We even try out the exercises, so you can squeeze along with us! Elaine’s mantra is “We won’t pee, with a 10-10-3”, so tune in to find out what that’s all about and to enjoy a very entertaining conversation.

We also discuss her upcoming show Viva Your Vulva at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, where she’ll once again be busting open the taboo around out intimate health with the help of giant, sparkly vulva on stage. That’s definitely a date for your diary, if you’ll be in the area, so check out the show notes for more details!

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please do tell your friends and family about the podcast and leave a 5-star rating and a review on Apple podcasts or whichever platform you listen on. It really helps to activate the algorithms and boost the rankings so that more women can find the show.  Because every woman deserves a happy menopause.

Show Notes

Find out more about Elaine, her shows and the work that she does by visiting her Gusset Grippers website

Follow Elaine on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Book tickets for Elaine’s upcoming show Viva Your Vulva – The Hole Story

Do a squeeze-along with Elaine in this clip from BBC Woman’s Hour

Visit the POGP website for patient information leaflets and a directory of UK pelvic health physiotherapists

Visit the Pelvic Floor First website which Elaine mentioned as a great source of general advice. It also includes signposting for support within Australia

Check out the Pelvic Roar pelvic health promotion site