I had my fourth pelvic floor therapy appointment yesterday. I left with a very massaged butt.

For some reason, it feels a little odd that an older gal is the one that did it. It works, though!

When I last wrote about PFT, I was struggling with a lot of pain. Trying new exercises – especially with my spine/neck – is rough. Now that I’ve weaned off the daily use of muscle relaxers, the PFT stuff is catching up to me, too.

Appointment three consisted of an external exam focused on my butt. What we found was that I have a very tight piriformis muscle too! This connects the spine with your leg and helps control your hip movements. It can even cause some sciatica-like pain!

It also explains a lot. My left hip is very painful at times, something that seems to be related to my overly tense muscles. I’m having to do a lot of exercises or movements around opening up the hips, like sitting crosslegged.

For appointment four yesterday, we focused on manual manipulation of this muscle… so, like I said, a sweet older lady spent a while rubbing my butt. Between her, my new acupuncturist, and the hubs, I’ve really been getting a lot of butt action!

It’s a really odd sensation. There’s a lot of tension there. I don’t seem to notice it unless someone is applying pressure, though. It’s very similar to having a tight IT band. It makes sense – the pelvic floor muscles, leg muscles, and back muscles all work together. It’s part of why my lower back pain makes so much sense, too.

I mean, that and my bulging disc.

I should’ve expected it, but I’m dealing with increased pain as we try to improve these muscles. It’s not my favorite thing, especially when it means waking up with more vaginal pain.

For now, I’m focusing on a few exercises: squatting, hip flexor stretches, and squeeze/contract. The only ones that seem to help are the hip ones, though, so that’s where my focus is. Hopefully, things won’t be quite as painful soon.