Although kegel exercises can be a quick and easy exercise, it can have a lasting impact on your wellness!
Today, let’s review Kegel exercises and how they can benefit you.
Kegel exercises are pelvic muscle exercises that strengthen the muscles that support the organs in the pelvis. These organs include the bladder, rectum, and your uterus. The pelvic muscles can also be referred to as the "pelvic floor."
True! Postpartum pelvic girdle pain usually goes away in most moms by 4 months after giving birth. However, 20% of women who experience this continue to have pain two to three years postpartum.
You may feel pain within the pelvis. Pain can radiate to the groin, the lower abdomen or the upper thigh. It can be worse with movement or prolonged standing or sitting or by carrying a heavy load ( AKA baby).
Around one-third (33%) of mom’s experience involuntary loss of urine when laughing, sneezing, coughing or jumping. This is called stress incontinence. During pregnancy and delivery the pelvic muscles weaken and allow urine to leak when the pressure in the belly is high.
Kegel exercises can prevent or control urinary incontinence by strengthening your pelvic muscles. Studies show that compared with no treatment, women treated with pelvic muscle exercises were two times more likely to report improvement or cure of any urinary incontinence.
TRUE! Pelvic organ prolapse happens when the muscles supporting the pelvic organs (the uterus, bladder, or rectum) become weak or loose. This allows one or more of the pelvic organs to drop or press into or out of the vagina. This may occur later in life. Studies report 3-11% of women experience this.
Symptoms include:
Seeing or feeling a bulge from the vagina
Feeling of pressure, discomfort, aching, or fullness in the pelvis
Pelvic pressure that gets worse with standing or coughing or as the day goes on
Leaking urine or problems having a bowel movement
Kegels can help make those muscles stronger and can limit the likelihood of developing prolapse and keep your prolapse from getting worse.
True! Kegel exercises can not only strengthen your muscles but help increase blood flow to the vagina for greater sensitivity and lubrication. Women that regularly train their pelvic floors report even stronger orgasms!
How do you do Kegel exercises?
You will need to learn which muscles to tighten. It is sometimes hard to figure out the right muscles.
Here are some ways to practice which muscles to use:
Use your finger- insert inside your vagina and squeeze the muscles around your finger
Imagine picking up a marble….with your vagina!
Squeeze the muscles you would use to stop the flow of urine.
Important things to avoid
Do not tighten your abdominal, thigh or gluteal muscles.
Do not hold your breath
Do not have a full bladder (empty before you do kegels)
Best to learn lying down….but after you learn which muscles to tighten, you can do the exercises in any position (standing, sitting, or lying down).
Daily! A common approach is to try to do a set of the exercises 3 times a day. But start small, once a day, and move up to three sets, three times a day.
For each set, do the following about 10 times:
●Squeeze your pelvic muscles
●Hold the muscles tight for about 10 seconds
●Relax the muscles completely
Practice makes progress! Keep this up and in a few months you may notice some results! If you have been doing kegel exercises for several months and you don’t seem to see a difference, tell your healthcare provider . You may need to have a consultation with a physical therapist or try other treatments for your condition.
True! Many healthcare providers suggest starting kegel exercises as soon as the first week after delivery. If you had a repair of an episiotomy or tear, you may need to wait longer. Speak to your healthcare provider before you start.
Kegel exercises are a tiny little movement but pack a big punch!
Not only can they make sex more pleasurable for you….they can help keep you from leaking urine, gas, bowel movements and from getting pelvic organ prolapse and chronic pelvic pain!
The great thing about it is you can do them anywhere!
At a red light? Do some kegels!
Waiting in line? Do some kegels!
Watching real housewives? Do some kegels!
Doing some pelvic tilts? Do some kegels!
Please reach out to MaternalWell text support for any general questions or reach out for consultation with our physical therapist.
