PASSING wind is completely natural, but it can become painful if it gets trapped.
Most of the time, trapped wind will pass on it’s own, but now one expert has revealed how you can ease the symptoms.
Taking to Tiktok, pelvic floor physiotherapist George said if you feel like you really have to push to get your farts out, or struggle to release the air, then there are some things you can do.
Posting to Bien Aus, a pelvic floor wellness brand, the expert revealed her strategies to open up your sphintus and release your farts.
George said: “The pelvic floor is almost definitely responsible for this sensation.
“The external sphincter around the entrance of the anus and we’ve got an internal sphinctus just beyond that and we’ve got the deep layer of the pelvic floor.”
She pointed to a diagram which showed the deep layer of the pelvic floor and explained: “If that’s tight or if your external anal sphincter is tight then you might not be able to release your farts and you might not be able to get the air out.”
In this case, she said you want to relax the pelvic floor in order to ease the trapped wind.
The 4 tricks to ease it are:
- Try diaphragmatic breaths
- Child’s pose
- Pigeon pose
- See a physiotherapist
George explained that diaphragmatic breaths help us to learn to let go of the lower abs.
Experts at Cleveland Clinic state that this type of breathing, also known as belly breathing, can help you with a range of issues.
If you’re new to the process, you can try it by lying down on a bed or surface, with your knees bent and your head supported.
Then place one hand on your upper chest and one below your rib cage – this will help you to feel the diaphragm as you breathe.
You should breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out, causing your hand to rise, with the hand on your chest remaining as still as possible.
Then you should tighten your stomach muscles as you exhale through pursed lips.
But if you have any conditions that affect the lungs or you suffer with anxiety, you should contact a medical professional before trying out this technique.
George added: “We want to do poses like child’s pose and pigeon pose, lots of poses that are going to open up the hips and the pelvic floor.”
HOW TO
Speaking to The Sun, London-based personal trainer Abi Skipper explained how you can do these moves at home.
When it comes to child’s pose, Abi said first, you need to get down on your knees, taking them slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
“Then bring your feet together.
“Push your hips back, so your bum touches your feet, as you stretch your arms out in front you want to keep your bum on your heels to deepen the stretch.
“When your arms are out in front, you can just rest there in the child’s pose.”
The expert added that another version of the stretch is to bring your arms down to your sides.
“Either way you need to keep your bum down, giving you a nice stretch in the lower back,” she said.
For the pigeon pose, she said you want to start in a plank position or a downward dog.
Doing one leg at a time, Abi said if you’re starting with your right leg, you’re going to raise or extend that leg up to the ceiling.
“Then you’re going to slowly lower it down, bending it underneath you, bringing that right knee to your right wrist.
“In that position there, you’re going to extend your left leg straight and you’re then going to rest on your elbows.”
The fitness guru said that if you want a deeper stretch, you can take your arms out in front of you.
Then, do the same thing on the left leg.
But if none of these things work for you, George added that you might need to specifically release the pelvic floor which can be done through pelvic floor release or internal release with a physio.
The physio also previously revealed that many people may have been wiping their bums wrong.
The expert said that this was actually referred to as faecal smearing.
She explained in the TikTok video: “This is when too much faecal matter stays at the entrance of the anus after you’ve finished a poo.”
When this happens, the guru said that this could be a sign of issues such as a weak pelvic floor, a lack of fibre in your diet, an anal sphincter injury or haemorrhoids.
When to see a GP
The NHS says that you should see your GP is farting or trapped wind is affecting your life and self help and pharmacy treatments have not worked.
If you have stomach ache, bloating, that will not go away or comes back and you have constipation or diarrhoea then you should also make an appointment.
You should also visit your GP if you’ve lost weight without trying or if you’ve had blood in your poo for three weeks.
In the event of an emergency, always call 999.
