Imagine for a moment that you are part of the pelvic floor. You are one small piece of a huge network of ropes and pulleys that create movement around a body. If you contract, it can be felt up to the neck as it’s all connected.
Now imagine you have been cut in half. You can no longer contract well or lengthen – in fact would you even allow it to lengthen or would all the ropes and pulleys around you protect you by closing you off?
That would be logical and helpful during acute stages of healing, while you can knit yourself together.
But if that takes 8 weeks and your body has created an adaptive movement strategy that avoids strain and tension In that area, it might forget how to move back.
When an area is not moved the nerves become less reactive and the brain can ‘forget’ this area. It’s called sensory motor amnesia.
To function now our body must call on extra work from other muscles around, resulting in overuse or compression. Over time this can show up in the hip, knee, back….. anywhere.
I, despite doing yoga after my birth, did not ‘go there’ until my back went and I was faced to address it, as most of us can do weekly yoga and movement perfectly well with huge avoidant patterns.
It’s worth a bit of expert advice after any trauma. In fact refusing to get help is part of the trauma itself.
