Pelvic Floor Symptom
Pelvic Floor Clenching or Difficulty Relaxing
By Dr. Anthony J. Gordon, Doctor of Acupuncture | Last reviewed September 2026
You notice it in traffic, at your desk, lying in bed. Your pelvic floor and glutes are clenched, and you did not tell them to be. When you try to let go, they tighten again moments later. Habitual clenching is how many pelvic pain, bladder and bowel problems start, and you can learn to let go.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (516) 597-5400. Most new patients are seen within one to two weeks.
Overview
Understanding Pelvic Floor Clenching
Many people hold tension in their pelvic floor and glutes throughout the day without knowing it. It can start as a response to stress, pain, anxiety, a history of trauma, core training cues to always engage, or holding in urine or gas. Over time it becomes automatic.
Constant clenching keeps the pelvic floor from resting. The muscles fatigue, develop trigger points and lose the ability to fully relax. That can lead to pelvic, rectal or tailbone pain, urgency and frequency, difficulty emptying, pain with sex and hip pain. Many people only realize they are clenching once someone points it out.
Dr. Gordon releases the tension and trigger points that have built up, and helps you build the awareness to notice and let go of clenching during your day.
Pelvic Floor Clenching at a Glance
Also called
Pelvic floor holding, butt gripping, pelvic guarding
Common origins
Stress, anxiety, pain, trauma history, core cues to always engage, holding habits
Why it matters
Constant holding leads to fatigue, trigger points and loss of relaxation
Often leads to
Pelvic pain, urgency, difficulty emptying, pain with sex, hip pain
What helps
Releasing built-up tension and building awareness to let go
The Gap in Care
What Tests Check, and What They Can Miss
Clenching is a habit, not a disease, so it rarely shows up in tests. Its effects on the pelvic floor are often missed.
What routine testing is looking for
- Bladder and bowel disease
- Gynecologic or prostate conditions
- Spine problems
- Hip joint problems
What often keeps symptoms going
- Habitual pelvic floor and glute holding
- Trigger points from constant tension
- Loss of the ability to relax fully
- Stress and anxiety patterns
- Core training habits that encourage constant bracing
These are assessed with a pelvic floor exam and a look at your daily habits.
Signs & Symptoms
Does This Sound Like You?
Symptoms vary from person to person. These are the patterns Dr. Gordon sees most often.
Noticing you are clenched
Catching yourself holding tension in the pelvis or buttocks.
Difficulty letting go
Trying to relax and not feeling a change.
Pelvic or tailbone ache
Aching that builds through the day.
Urinary urgency or hesitancy
Frequent urges or difficulty starting.
Pain with sex
Discomfort from muscles that cannot relax.
Hip and low back tightness
Tight glutes and hips.
Root Causes
The Four Drivers Dr. Gordon Looks For
Most people have more than one of these in play. Finding which one leads makes treatment more efficient.
Stress and anxiety
The pelvic floor is part of the body's stress response and tightens with stress.
Pain and guarding
Pain anywhere in the pelvis leads to protective clenching.
Core training habits
Cues to always engage the core can lead to constant pelvic floor holding.
Holding habits
Holding urine, stool or gas trains the pelvic floor to stay tight.
Your First Visit
How Dr. Gordon Evaluates Pelvic Floor Clenching
The initial evaluation runs 60 to 75 minutes. You leave with a clear picture of what is driving your symptoms, a written plan, a realistic timeline, and in most cases your first treatment.
Records and history review
Dr. Gordon reviews your physician's findings, imaging, medications and past treatments so he knows what has been ruled out and what has already been tried.
Awareness and breathing check
Dr. Gordon looks at how your breathing, glutes and pelvic floor behave at rest.
External pelvic floor assessment
The pelvic floor muscles are examined from the outside, with no internal exam. With you draped for comfort, gentle pressure around the perineum, sit bones, tailbone and inner thighs checks tone, tenderness and trigger points.
Daily habits review
Dr. Gordon reviews posture, exercise habits, stress and bathroom habits.
Plan and coordination
A clear plan, plus communication with your physician or pelvic floor PT when that helps your care.
When to see a physician first
- Fever or chills with pelvic or urinary symptoms
- Inability to urinate
- Visible blood in the urine or stool
- Sudden, severe pelvic or abdominal pain
- Unexplained weight loss
- New numbness in the saddle area or loss of bladder or bowel control
If you have any of these, contact your doctor or go to the nearest emergency department.
Bring to your first visit
Records
Recent lab results, imaging reports and specialist notes. These can also be faxed ahead.
Treatment history
A short list of what you have tried and what did or did not help.
Clothing
Something comfortable and loose fitting.
Treatment
How Dr. Gordon Treats It
These are the tools Dr. Gordon uses most often for pelvic floor clenching, chosen from your exam findings.
Primary approach
Intrapelvic & Extrapelvic Dry Needling
Dr. Gordon holds ASE certification in both intrapelvic and extrapelvic dry needling. Treatment releases built-up tension and trigger points in the pelvic floor, glutes and hips so relaxation becomes possible. The needles go in through the skin of the buttock, perineum or inner thigh, never through the vagina or rectum.
Learn about pelvic floor treatmentNerve focus
Neuro-Functional Acupuncture
Electro-acupuncture to calm the nervous system response that keeps the pelvic floor on guard.
See servicesBetween visits
Awareness Plan & Team Coordination
Simple check-ins and breathing practices to catch and release clenching, coordinated with your pelvic floor PT or therapist.
Referring provider? Contact the clinicWhat to Expect
A Typical Recovery Arc
Visits 1 to 3
Find the main driver
Dr. Gordon confirms which muscles and nerves are behind your symptoms and starts calming the most reactive areas. Many people notice early changes between visits.
Visits 4 to 8
Lower the baseline
Day-to-day symptoms ease, flares become shorter and less frequent, and normal routines start to feel more manageable.
Visits 9 to 12 and beyond
Build resilience
Visits are spaced out as improvement holds. You leave with a maintenance and early-flare plan.
Most patients are seen weekly or every other week during active care. Individual results vary with how long symptoms have been present and how reactive they are. Progress is reassessed at every visit.
Not sure how to describe it? Put your pain or discomfort into words before your visit
"I had never done acupuncture and was very nervous to try it out. Dr. G eased my nerves as soon as I walked in by thoroughly explaining the process and answering all of my questions. He is really concerned about your health and genuinely wants to help you feel better."
Kaitlin Erikson, Google Review
Pelvic Floor Clenching Questions
Answers About Pelvic Floor Clenching
Still unsure whether this is the right fit? Reach out before you book and Dr. Gordon will talk through your history with you.
Occasional clenching is normal. Constant clenching fatigues the pelvic floor and can lead to pain and bladder and bowel symptoms.
After a long time, the muscles lose the ability to fully relax. Releasing tension first makes relaxing easier.
Not necessarily, but Dr. Gordon may adjust cues so you are not bracing constantly.
Often. The pelvic floor tightens with stress, and Dr. Gordon coordinates with therapists when helpful.
Many people improve within six to ten sessions.
Dr. Gordon helps you learn to feel the difference, and set up simple reminders during your day.
Before You Book
General Questions
The clinic is an out-of-network practice. The initial evaluation is $300 and follow-up visits are $250. After each visit you receive a detailed superbill to submit to your PPO plan for possible reimbursement. FSA and HSA cards are accepted, and the clinic can run a complimentary benefits check before your first appointment. The check is a courtesy, so please confirm your coverage with your plan. See Insurance & Fees for details.
The first evaluation is 60 to 75 minutes and usually includes treatment. Follow-up visits run 45 to 60 minutes.
Yes. Call (516) 597-5400 or send a message through the contact page. This is especially helpful if your case is complex and you want to understand the approach before committing to a full evaluation.
1508 Union Turnpike, Suite 133, North New Hyde Park, NY 11040, with free parking on site. The clinic is an easy drive from Manhasset, Great Neck, Garden City, Lake Success, Floral Park and Mineola. Early morning, evening and weekend hours are available.
Most people feel a quick muscle twitch or a deep ache that lasts a few seconds. That twitch is a normal sign the trigger point is releasing. Mild soreness for 24 to 48 hours afterward, similar to a hard workout, is common. Depth, angle and stimulation are adjusted to your comfort.
Both use the same fine, sterile, single-use needles. Dry needling targets specific trigger points and tight bands in muscle based on your exam. Neuro-functional acupuncture targets nerve pathways, often with gentle electrical stimulation, to calm nerve sensitivity. For pelvic floor clenching, Dr. Gordon commonly uses both.
When performed by a trained, licensed provider with detailed knowledge of anatomy, it has a strong safety record. Tell Dr. Gordon if you take blood thinners, have a bleeding disorder, are pregnant or have a weakened immune system so he can plan accordingly.
It is a technique that reaches the internal pelvic floor muscles, including the levator ani, obturator internus and coccygeus, to release trigger points and restore normal muscle function. Dr. Gordon holds ASE certification in this technique, which few practitioners in New York have.
Yes. Your privacy and comfort come first. When undressing is needed for the area being treated, you are fully draped, and nothing internal is done without your clear consent. You can pause or stop at any time.
Yes. Pelvic floor clenching can affect people of every gender, and Dr. Gordon treats adults of all genders and identities.
It helps to have had a medical workup so serious causes have been checked. If you have not seen a physician for your pelvic symptoms yet, call the clinic to talk through the best order of steps.
About Dr. Anthony J. Gordon
Dr. Anthony J. Gordon is a Doctor of Acupuncture licensed in New York and board certified. He holds ASE certification in intrapelvic and extrapelvic dry needling, along with advanced certifications in Functional Dry Needling and Neuro-Functional Acupuncture. With more than 18 years of clinical experience and over 3,000 complex cases treated, he focuses on pelvic, spinal and orthopedic conditions that have not responded to standard care, and works closely with each patient's physicians and physical therapists.
Read Dr. Gordon's full bioFurther Reading
Why Pelvic Floor Pain Gets Missed, and What a Muscle Exam Can Find
From the blog: why routine tests miss tight pelvic floor muscles, and what a gentle external exam can find.
Stress and the Pelvic Floor: Why You May Be Clenching Without Knowing
From the blog: The pelvic floor tightens with stress, and many people hold it tight all day without noticing. Everyday signs of clenching, the breath link and what helps.
Book an Evaluation for Pelvic Floor Clenching or Difficulty Relaxing
Book a full evaluation with Dr. Gordon and learn how to release the tension your pelvic floor has been holding.
Early morning, evening and weekend appointments available. Free on-site parking.
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