C’mon, guys, let’s not be immature here. Everybody poops, and according to one physio, most of us are doing it wrong. If you haven’t gone to town on a whole lot of Taco Bell and aren’t struggling with a stomach virus or other gastrointestinal issue, your pooping schedule and consistency should be pretty consistent. However, this isn’t about how you’re pooping, it’s about how you’re wiping. In particular, how many times you’re doing it. If you need more than three lots of toilet paper to get your butt clean, there’s a problem.
On the Bien Australia TikTok account, a woman named George, who also happens to be an expert on the pelvic floor, grabbed viewers’ attention immediately when she said, “Do you wipe more than three times after you go for a poo? If so, listen up.”
I’m all ears! What’s the deal, George?
@bien.aus Are you wiping 101 times to get clean after a poo? #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorphysio #pelvicfloorpt
Apparently, having to wipe more than two or three times when you go for a number two is called “fecal smearing.” Yikes! What does that mean, exactly? According to George, “This is when too much fecal matter stays at the entrance of the anus after you’ve finished a poo.”
Well, that’s gross. But is there anything we can do about it? Yes, but it’s all about pelvic floor control.
“A technique you can use to reduce this is by squeezing your pelvic floor in a waterfall formation,” George says. Start by squeezing your sphincter 20%, then 50%, then 80%, then 100%.
“This can help close off the anus sphincter which is why you’re having little bits of stool still hanging around the entrance – it’s normally through weakness through that external sphincter,” she explains.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. It’s also not always possible if you have other issues at the time, such as scar tissue around the anus or hemorrhoids that make it hard to get your butt completely clean.
