Maybe it was your mum telling you to stand up straighter. Maybe it was a fitness instructor constantly reminding you to pull your belly button toward your spine. Or maybe it was the cultural messaging that a flatter stomach is simply more attractive.
For many women, after years of being told to “suck it in” – also referred to as “stomach gripping”– it just becomes a way of life. But physical therapists say the habit can have consequences that go far beyond appearance.
Over time, what starts as a conscious effort can become automatic.
“That becomes an unconscious holding pattern,” Dr. Caroline Packard, a pelvic floor physical therapist and founder of Connect Pelvic Floor Fitness, told HuffPost.
“I call this ab gripping, and I see it all the time clinically in women dealing with pelvic floor symptoms, core dysfunction, back pain, hip pain and breathing restrictions.”
English (US)