The Truth About Kegel Exercises

A kegel is the name of a pelvic floor exercise. These originate from your pubic bone, go under your genitals and attach to your tailbone. These muscles support the uterus, bladder and bowel.

If you do Kegel exercises regularly and keep your pelvic floor muscles toned, you may reduce your risk of incontinence and similar problems as you get older. Kegel exercises can also help your control urinary incontinence.

Kegel muscles can also heighten your arousal during sex, enhance your orgasms, improve blood circulation to the genitals, and increase vaginal tone and lubrication.

Kegel exercises are recommended especially during pregnancy. Well-toned pelvic floor muscles may make you more comfortable as your due date approaches.

Here are several ways to help find the right muscles:

To make sure you know how to contract your pelvic floor muscles, try to stop the flow of urine while you’re going to the bathroom. If you succeed, congratulations you got the basic move.

Do not make a habit of starting and stopping your urine stream. Doing Kegel exercises with a full bladder or while emptying your bladder can actually weaken the muscles. It can also lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder, which increases your risk of a urinary tract infection.

Another technique is to insert a finger inside your vagina and try to squeeze the surrounding muscles. You should be able to feel your vagina tighten and your pelvic floor move upward. Then relax your muscles and feel your pelvic floor move down to the starting position. As your muscles become stronger and you become more experienced with the exercises this movement will be more pronounced.

If you’re having trouble finding the right muscles, call your doctor or other health care provider so they can give you important feedback. The Dr. can make sure that you learn to isolate and exercise the correct muscles.

Once you have identified your pelvic floor muscles, empty your bladder and sit or lie down. Then:

-Contract your pelvic floor muscles.
-Hold the contraction for three seconds then relax for three seconds.
-Repeat 10 times.
-Once you’ve perfected three-second muscle contractions, try it for four seconds at a time, alternating muscle contractions with a four-second rest period.
-Work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.

To get the most out of the exercise, focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles or isolating your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Also, try not to hold your breath. Just relax, breathe freely and focus on tightening the muscles around your vagina and rectum.

Once you have located the muscles simply tighten and relax the muscle over and over, about 200 times a day. You can perform a set of 10 Kegel exercises 2 to 3 times a day. The exercises will get easier the more often you do them. You might make a practice of fitting in a set every time you do a routine task, such as checking e-mail or commuting to work.

Vary your technique with one of these methods:

-Try sets of mini-Kegels. Count quickly to 10 or 20, contracting and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles each time you say a number.

-Visualize an elevator. Slow down the exercises, gradually contracting and releasing your pelvic floor muscles one at a time. As you contract, visualize an elevator traveling up four floors. At each floor, contract your muscles a little more until you reach maximum contraction at the fourth floor. Hold the contraction and then slowly release the tension as you visualize the elevator returning to the ground floor. Repeat 10 times.

If you do your Kegel exercises on a regular basis, you can expect to see some results, such as less frequent urine leakage, within about eight to 12 weeks. Your improvement may be dramatic or, at the very least, you may keep your problems from worsening. As with other forms of physical activity, you need to make Kegel exercises a lifelong practice to reap lifelong rewards.