How to Empty Your Bowels: Avoid Straining

Learn how to empty your bowels and avoid straining with with this short Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist-guided video.

This bowel emptying video shows you how to empty your bowels using the correct bowel emptying technique and avoid straining.

How to Empty Your Bowels

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration for:

• Correct sitting posture to improve bowel emptying
• The correct ‘Brace and Bulge’ bowel movement technique taught by Pelvic Floor Physiotherapists.
• How to Empty your Bowel and Avoid Straining Video

This video can help you avoid straining and bowel movement problems with:

• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Hemorrhoids
• Chronic constipation 
• Pelvic pain or increased pelvic floor muscle tension
• Recently giving birth

Bowel Movement Problems and Rectal Prolapse 

This bowel movement video shows the correct bowel movement position and technique technique to avoid straining, protect your prolapse and reduce your risk of prolapse worsening.

Learn the highly effective ‘Brace and Bulge’ technique for overcoming bowel movement problems.

This bowel movement technique is widely taught in clinical physiotherapy to overcome bowel movement problems and promote effective emptying of the bowels without straining.

Bowel movement problems are frequently experienced by women with prolapse of the back wall of the vagina, also known as rectocoele.

Constipation and Prolapse

Constipation and incomplete emptying with a prolapse can be caused by a combination of factors including:

• Decreased sensation of rectal filling due to overstretching of the rectum (e.g. rectocele)
• Hard dry stools
• Pelvic floor muscle weakness
• Insufficient pelvic floor muscle relaxation during defaecation.

Strategies to assist bowel emptying with rectocoele include those outlined in this video:

• Brace and bulge technique
• Correct position to sit and empty your bowels
• Managing your stool consistency
• Relaxed breathing 
• Pelvic floor strengthening.

Emptying your bowel with a rectocoele involves good bowel management through appropriate diet, stool softeners or laxatives if required with hard stools and using the correct bowel emptying position and technique.