Dominic Stone
Kegel exercises are simple yet powerful movements that can help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles, which stretch from your tailbone to your pubic bone, are responsible for supporting your bladder and bowels. By performing Kegels, you can gain greater control over your pelvic muscles, which can be especially beneficial during pregnancy and delivery. To locate your pelvic floor muscles, try stopping your urine flow mid-stream or pretending to prevent yourself from passing gas. Once you've identified these muscles, you can perform Kegel exercises by focusing on squeezing and lifting, without engaging your abdominal, leg, or buttock muscles.
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What You'll Learn
How to find your pelvic floor muscles
To find your pelvic floor muscles, you can try the following methods:
Squeezing the vaginal opening
Insert a finger or two inside your vagina and try to squeeze them. You should feel muscles inside your pelvis pull inward and upward. These are your pelvic floor muscles.
Imagining stopping urine flow midstream
Imagine that you're peeing and try to stop the flow of your pee. You can do this while sitting on the toilet. However, only do this until you learn how it feels as doing this repeatedly can lead to infection.
Squeezing the anus
Try to squeeze your anus as if you were preventing yourself from breaking wind. You should feel the muscles inside your pelvis pull inward and upward.
Using biofeedback
Biofeedback is a method where a healthcare provider inserts a probe into your vagina and asks you to perform a Kegel. A monitor then shows if you're squeezing the correct muscles.
Using electrical stimulation
During electrical stimulation, a healthcare provider sends a small electric current into your pelvic floor muscles. Your muscles will react to the current by squeezing.
Using Kegel balls
Kegel balls are devices that you can insert into your vagina. Your pelvic floor muscles will hold the ball in place while you continue with your daily activities.
Using a vaginal cone
A vaginal cone is a weighted device that is inserted into the vagina. You can then try to tighten the pelvic floor muscles to hold the device in place.
It is important to note that you should not squeeze your butt, thighs, or any other muscle while trying to find and exercise your pelvic floor muscles. Additionally, make sure to keep breathing freely throughout the process.
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How to breathe during Kegel exercises
It is important to breathe normally throughout Kegel exercises. Avoid holding your breath as you squeeze and tighten your pelvic floor muscles. Maintain your usual breathing pattern by counting out loud if that helps.
Before you begin Kegel exercises, take a full breath in and let it out completely. Relax your body, especially your stomach, as you exhale. This will help you to connect with the sensations you experience during the exercise. When breathing in, most people contract their stomach, so you may need to retrain this habit.
As you breathe out, let your tummy go flat and slowly contract the muscle that causes the same sensation as when you stop the flow of pee. This is the PC muscle, a trampoline-like muscle that sits below your pelvic organs. It is similar to other muscle tissue in that it follows a "use it or lose it" rule.
To get a sense of how to breathe and contract during Kegel exercises, observe how a baby breathes when sleeping. The belly expands when the baby breathes in and contracts when the baby breathes out. Contract slowly, pulling your belly button up and in while tightening the PC muscle first within your vagina and then within your rectal sphincter. Try to hold this contraction for as long as you can. Release and repeat 5-10 more times, without exceeding 10 contractions.
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The importance of relaxing other muscles
To perform a Kegel exercise correctly, it is important to focus on the relaxation of all other muscles besides the pelvic floor muscles. This is because the primary purpose of Kegel exercises is to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which are responsible for supporting the bladder, bowels, and vagina. These muscles can be located by attempting to stop the flow of urine or inserting a finger into the vagina and squeezing the muscles around it.
When performing Kegel exercises, it is crucial to avoid engaging the muscles of the inner thighs, back, buttocks, or stomach. Squeezing these muscles indicates that the exercise is not being executed correctly. The correct technique involves isolating the pelvic floor muscles and contracting them, without any movement or tension in the surrounding areas.
By relaxing the surrounding muscles, you ensure that the pelvic floor muscles are working in isolation, receiving the full benefits of the exercise. This isolation helps to improve bladder and bowel control, prevent leaking urine, and enhance sexual function. It is important to note that the breath should also remain steady and normal during Kegel exercises, as holding the breath can lead to incorrect muscle engagement.
Additionally, it is recommended to start with a small number of Kegel exercises, such as five repetitions held for three seconds each, twice a day. As strength and endurance improve, the duration and frequency of the exercises can be gradually increased. This progressive approach ensures that the pelvic floor muscles are adequately challenged without overworking them, allowing for optimal results.
In summary, the relaxation of muscles other than the pelvic floor muscles during Kegel exercises is vital to ensure correct muscle isolation, prevent incorrect muscle engagement, and maximize the benefits of the exercises. By following this principle and gradually progressing the intensity, individuals can effectively strengthen their pelvic floor muscles and experience the associated improvements in bladder control, bowel function, and sexual health.
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The benefits of Kegel exercises for men
Kegel exercises are a great way for men to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles and improve their overall health. Here are some of the benefits of Kegel exercises for men:
Improved Bladder and Bowel Control
Kegel exercises help men gain better control over their bladder and bowel functions. By strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, men can prevent or reduce urinary and fecal incontinence, also known as leaking pee or accidentally passing gas or stool. This can be a common issue due to weakened pelvic muscles, which can occur with age, prostate surgery, or other health conditions.
Enhanced Sexual Function
Kegel exercises can lead to improved sexual function for men. By strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, men can gain greater control over their ejaculation, which can increase pleasure and enhance orgasms. Additionally, Kegel exercises can help manage prostate pain and swelling associated with prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Easier Childbirth and Recovery
For men expecting a child, Kegel exercises can be beneficial during their partner's pregnancy and childbirth. By strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, men can support their partners in managing the physical demands of pregnancy and delivery, such as improving bladder control and reducing perineal pain after delivery.
Better Overall Pelvic Health
Kegel exercises promote overall pelvic health for men. The pelvic floor muscles support the bladder, prostate, and rectum, and their strengthening can help prevent issues related to pelvic organ prolapse. Additionally, Kegel exercises can help improve core stability and posture, leading to better overall physical health and well-being.
To perform Kegel exercises effectively, it is important to identify the correct pelvic floor muscles and focus on isolating and contracting them. This can be done by trying to stop the flow of urine while sitting on the toilet, but it should not be practised frequently to avoid creating a habit. Men can perform Kegel exercises in various positions, such as sitting, standing, or lying down, and should focus on squeezing and lifting contractions. Consistency and correct technique are key to achieving the full benefits of Kegel exercises.
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How to squeeze Kegel muscles during pregnancy
Kegel exercises are a great way to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which stretch during pregnancy and childbirth. These muscles support your bladder, uterus, and rectum. During pregnancy, you can start with Kegel exercises in the second trimester when most people experience a boost in energy.
To do a Kegel squeeze, identify the right muscles. To do this, you can insert a clean finger into your vagina and squeeze the muscles you would use to hold in gas. If you feel a tightening around your finger, you are doing it right. You can also try to stop the flow of urine when you are sitting on the toilet. This is just to identify the muscles and should not be done often as it is not great for your bladder. Once you know what muscles to squeeze, you can do Kegels anytime, anywhere.
Routines to try:
- Long hold: Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles and hold for several seconds. Then relax for a few seconds and repeat. You can start with a few seconds and gradually increase the hold time by a second or two until you can hold for 10 seconds.
- Contract and release: Quickly tighten and relax the pelvic floor muscles several times in a row. Hold for three, relax for three. Hold the squeeze for three seconds, relax for three seconds, and repeat.
Precautions:
- Do not strain. Everyone's pelvic floor muscles have different strengths.
- Do not bear down on or squeeze the muscles of your inner thighs, back, buttocks, or stomach.
- Do not squeeze so hard that you hold your breath. Continue to breathe normally.
- If you are experiencing pelvic, abdominal, hip, or back pain, doing Kegels may worsen the pain. Consult a pelvic floor physical therapist for an evaluation.
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Frequently asked questions
Kegel exercises, often shortened to Kegels, are exercises that strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support your bladder and bowels, helping to control urinary and bowel functions.
When performing a Kegel, you shouldn't notice any movement of your body other than your pelvic floor muscles. For example, if you're sitting, you shouldn't feel your butt cheeks squeezing or inner thighs moving together. You should be able to breathe normally throughout the exercise and not hold your breath.
While sitting on the toilet, try stopping the flow of your urine. The muscles you feel lifting inside of you are your pelvic floor muscles. Alternatively, you can imagine trying to prevent yourself from passing gas or insert a finger into your vagina and squeeze the muscles around it.
