During pregnancy and childbirth, your pelvic floor muscles have to support the increased weight of your uterus and baby—and they have to ready themselves to be stretched during labor. This often leads to a weakened pelvic floor, which is why experiencing urinary incontinence or leakage is common in the weeks after giving birth.
While physical therapy is a mainstay treatment for urinary incontinence, a recent Henry Ford Health study found that taking Pure Barre classes—a low-impact, full body workout that combines yoga, Pilates and ballet—may also do the trick.
“Compliance with physical therapy is not always great, since it’s like going to the doctor’s office,” says Ali Luck, M.D., a urogynecologist at Henry Ford Health. “We wanted to see if going to an exercise class, which is a fun activity you can do with friends, could be an alternative. Pure Barre exercises target the core and pelvic floor, so they’re similar exercises that a physical therapist would have you do. They isolate the pelvic floor to help strengthen it.”
Pelvic Health At Henry Ford
Dr. Luck and her team studied 25 women who had mild to moderate urinary incontinence. The women took 10 Pure Barre classes over two months—and Dr. Luck found their symptoms decreased by about 50%.
It usually takes 10 to 12 sessions to see changes in muscle strength or tone, regardless of the exercise program. But improvements may diminish once you stop. To maintain your pelvic floor strength over time, Dr. Luck recommends continuing the exercises at home.
“You can treat it like physical therapy, where you’re given at-home exercises to maintain your strength,” says Dr. Luck. “Barre classes can be expensive, so I’m also hoping insurance companies take notice and realize that barre can be a beneficial treatment—not only for your pelvic floor health, but for overall health.”
Reviewed by Ali Luck, M.D., Director of Urogynecology/Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at Henry Ford Health. She sees patients at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and Henry Ford Macomb Medical Pavilion.
