Maintaining Healthy Habits This Festive Season: A Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist’s Guide
The festive season is a wonderful time for celebration, connection, and well-earned indulgence. But alongside the fun, this time of year can quietly place extra strain on your pelvic floor. Changes in routine, richer foods, travel, late nights, and a few extra celebratory drinks can all impact bladder, bowel, and pelvic floor function.
As a pelvic floor physiotherapist, here are the most important ways to support your body—and enjoy the season—without compromising your pelvic health.
1. Be Mindful of Bladder Irritants
Many classic festive foods and drinks can irritate the bladder and contribute to urinary urgency, frequency, or leakage. You don’t need to avoid them completely—just be aware of what may affect you.
Common festive bladder irritants include:
Alcohol
Coffee (yes, even that extra pre-shopping cup)
Carbonated drinks
Citrus-based cocktails
Spicy foods
Artificial sweeteners (common in low-sugar mixers, desserts, and soft drinks)
Helpful habits:
Alternate irritants with a glass of water.
Have a “buffer snack” like whole grains or yoghurt before acidic or alcoholic drinks.
Sip steadily rather than “saving up” for later in the day.
2. Understand How Alcohol Affects the Bladder and Pelvic Floor
Alcohol is both a bladder stimulant and a diuretic. It increases urine production and decreases your bladder’s natural inhibitions—which can challenge your pelvic floor.
How alcohol impacts pelvic health:
Increased urgency and frequency
Higher likelihood of bladder leakage
More overnight bathroom trips
Irritation of the bladder lining
Practical strategies:
Choose lower-alcohol options (e.g., spritzers or low-alc drinks).
Add pauses between drinks.
Prioritise hydration before bed to calm the bladder overnight.
3. Prevent Constipation Before It Starts
Constipation is extremely common during the holidays due to travel, disrupted routines, dehydration, and changes in diet. Straining increases pelvic floor pressure and can worsen prolapse symptoms or pelvic pain.
To keep your bowels regular:
Hydration: Drink water consistently throughout the day.
Fibre: Include fruit, vegetables, oats, wholegrains, nuts, and legumes.
Movement: A gentle walk after meals helps stimulate bowel motility.
Toilet positioning tips (pelvic floor–friendly):
Feet supported (use a stool if you can)
Lean forward slightly
Relax your pelvic floor—avoid straining
Bonus: If you're prone to holiday constipation, consider a daily fibre supplement or magnesium (if appropriate for you).
4. Keep Up With Your Pelvic Floor Exercises
The busiest time of year is often when pelvic floor exercises are forgotten—yet this is when they’re most beneficial. Just 3–5 minutes a day can make a meaningful difference.
Festive-friendly ways to stay consistent:
Link PFMT to regular habits (brushing teeth, boiling the kettle, waiting at traffic lights).
Use a reminder app or simple phone timer.
Combine strength work with relaxation—many people need both.
If you're working with a physiotherapist, continue your prescribed plan even if it means shorter sessions.
5. Maintain Your Exercise or Rehab Routine—Realistically
You don’t need long workouts to protect your pelvic health. Consistency matters more than perfection.
Think “minimum effective dose”:
10–15 minutes of mobility or gentle strengthening
A walk after larger meals
Pelvic floor exercises incorporated into daily tasks
Stretching to counter long drives or flights
Small, regular movement helps circulation, bowel function, and pelvic floor support.
6. Prioritise Rest and Stress Management
Stress increases pelvic floor tension, bladder sensitivity, and gut sluggishness—all of which make pelvic symptoms more noticeable.
Simple ways to support your nervous system:
A few minutes of diaphragmatic breathing before bed
Short mindfulness or grounding exercises
Setting boundaries around social plans
Protecting your sleep whenever possible
A calm nervous system supports a calm pelvic floor.
7. Give Yourself Permission to Enjoy the Season
A healthy pelvic floor doesn’t require restriction—just awareness. Small, manageable habits make a big difference, and it’s absolutely possible to enjoy your favourite foods and drinks while staying comfortable and in control.
Remember: progress doesn’t disappear because your routine changes temporarily. Supporting your bladder, bowel, and pelvic floor through the holiday season is about balance, not perfection.
8. Book in to see your pelvic health physiotherapist
If you are struggling with your pelvic health throughout or following the festive season, please book in an initial or follow up appointment with our expert team at Embrace Physio + Pilates. We are open until December 24th (Christmas Eve) and return on January 5th.
Author: Divya Koujalgi, 2025