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stop sucking in your stomach
Image courtesy of iStock
When writing this latest article in the Washington Post about the ill effects of sucking in your stomach all the time, Allyson Chiu reached out to me for some insights. Here is a brief synopsis of the article, along with a link to the full article below.

Heather Jeffcoat, DPT

Sucking in your stomach all the time could be bad for your health

Sucking in your stomach and keeping your abdominal muscles too tense as you go about your day may seem innocuous, but experts say it’s a pervasive habit that can have physical and mental consequences over time.

Heather Jeffcoat is a keen observer of people.

I notice people,” said Jeffcoat, who ascribes her perceptive eye to her nearly two-decade career as a physical therapist. “I notice how people walk. I notice how people stand. I’ll just be like, ‘Oh, that person’s gripping their gluteal muscles, or that person looks like they’re gripping their abs.’ ”

The latter observation — a behavior some experts call “stomach gripping,” or what’s more widely known as sucking in your stomach — is one that Jeffcoat said she often sees among the patrons at her usual Starbucks, which is next to a spin studio in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles.

They’ll be dressed in their spin clothes, basically a crop top or a sports bra and capris, and I’ve noticed it,” she said. Then, her physical therapist’s brain starts whirling: “I wonder if they have back pain. I wonder if they have pelvic floor dysfunction.”

A key initial step is recognizing that you are gripping your abdominal muscles when you don’t need to, Wiebe said. While you should engage those muscles if you’re lifting a barbell, you shouldn’t be tensing them at full strength when you’re standing in line at the grocery store. “Awareness is half the battle,” she said.

Jeffcoat agreed.

Many people, she said, go around life holding it in because they think they’re supposed to” for postural or aesthetic reasons. “The problem is you shouldn’t have to be consciously gripping it,” she said. “It shouldn’t be that you’re constantly going 80 to 100 [percent of your maximal tension]. It should be closer to 20 to 30 percent.”

Pay attention to any symptoms related to the pelvic floor, such as abnormal bladder and bowel function or painful sex, experts said. Other signs of gripping may be more visual. For example, Wiebe said, consistently sucking in your stomach could alter the appearance of your abdomen, including a protrusion of the lower abdomen and a flaring of the rib cage.

To begin retraining your muscles, experts recommend consciously trying to relax and let your stomach out. For people who are having a hard time relaxing in a seated or standing position, getting on all fours and “letting your belly relax down to the floor” may help, Hwang said. “Sometimes having the help from gravity can make a difference.”

Jeffcoat said other strategies include a combination of flexibility and breath work, such as “belly breathing,” as well as abdominal massage. When you’re practicing breathing, Wiebe suggests doing inhalations with an emphasis on easing the stomach and pairing that with meaningful movements, such as descending into a squat. Combining inhalation with movement can teach the body to use the trunk muscles in a different way, Wiebe said, so you’re no longer relying only on your abdominals. For additional help, or if you have any symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, it’s important to seek care from a professional.

For the full expose on the dangers of sucking in your stomach all the time, continue to the full article at the Washington Post here.

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I can’t speak highly enough of the theapists at Femina Physical Therapy and how much they have helped me grow, discover, and love my body. I had had painful sex for my entire life, and didn’t know that there was anything that could be done about it. It was at the point where my husband and I were not having sex for MONTHs, because it was just too frustrating, and I hated feeling like I was the ONLY woman out there who had this problem, especially at my age. I finally brought it up to my doctor because I was turning 40 and my husband and I were barely having enough sex to conceive. And she brought up pelvic floor, PT. I didn’t even know this was a “thing”.

Read more: Testimonial by R.M., Age 40

Testimonial by Jamie M.

I have been going to see Heather for a while now, and I can't tell you enough how much she has improved my quality of life. Heather specializes in issues like pelvic floor, but I see her for other orthopedic issues.

I have a lot of chronic joint pain and dysfunction issues (back, hips, neck) that require that have ongoing physical therapy maintenance. The effects of my problem joints/areas overlap and interconnect with each other in complex ways, so helping me requires really having a complete understanding of the entire skeletal and muscular system. Pain does not always appear where the problem actually is, the human body is a twisty, many-layered puzzle. I have an exercise program I do at home and I am very functional, but there are just something things I need a PT to help me out with.

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I would like to start off by thanking Heather Jeffcoat for educating me and curing me of Vaginismus. I had been married for almost three years before I was referred to Heather. I never knew about Vaginismus until almost three years into my marriage. I knew something was wrong when I went on my honeymoon and came back a Virgin. I had always imagined how magical my first night would be but boy was I wrong.

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Testimonial by R.M., Age 40

I can’t speak highly enough of the theapists at Femina Physical Therapy and how much they have helped me grow, discover, and love my body. I had had painful sex for my entire life, and didn’t know that there was anything that could be done about it. It was at the point where my husband and I were not having sex for MONTHs, because it was just too frustrating, and I hated feeling like I was the ONLY woman out there who had this problem, especially at my age. I finally brought it up to my doctor because I was turning 40 and my husband and I were barely having enough sex to conceive. And she brought up pelvic floor, PT. I didn’t even know this was a “thing”.

Read more: Testimonial by R.M., Age 40

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I was hopeful but frankly skeptical when the doctor treating me for Interstitial Cystitis recommended that I go to Heather for physical therapy. Medication and diet helped control my IC symptoms, but I had never heard of physical therapy being used to treat IC. The education and treatment I received from Heather was a revelation. She explained that the pain I experienced with IC had helped create a cycle of muscle guarding which affected the entire pelvic area. I had no idea of the amount of tension being held there. No wonder my husband and I had not been able to have sexual intercourse for years!

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While pregnant with my twins, Heather took care with keeping me on my feet and pain free. She saved my back, my sanity and the holidays! I would recommend her to every “mom” looking to stay on her feet during pregnancy and post-partum.

-- T.C.

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