Regularly performing kegel exercises can have long lasting benefits.
I am sure most of you have been told to do kegel exercise at one point or another, but do you really know how to do them or why you are doing them. In our younger years we cannot image things like stress incontinence, cystoceles, or rectoceles, however as we age, and especially after babies, these things can happen. The pelvic floor is just like all other muscles in the body. They need to be worked out and strengthened as they are holding up our bladder, uterus, and even some of the intestines. Without supporting these muscles on a daily basis we run the risk of needing to wear a pad as we age and thus having more urinary tract infections.
One of the best places to learn to do the kegel exercise is on the toilet. What you will do is allow urine to start flowing, then you will pull the muscles of the pelvic floor up which will help to contract a sphincter mechanism that is around the base of the bladder. You will then want to hold this for up to five seconds. Once you have held it for the five seconds, or as long as you can, start the flow of urine again and then stop it again by contracting the pelvic floor muscles. Continue this process throughout the voiding of your urine.
Once you understand the muscles you are contracting you can do kegel exercises anywhere including at red lights, in a meeting, or even just sitting on the couch watching your favorite show. It will feel as though you are trying to draw the vagina and the anus up into the pelvis. The ideal goal is to try to do 50-100 contractions per day. The benefits you will notice now can be better sexual pleasure and in the future not having urine leaking when you are laughing or sneezing. Please remember to strengthen these muscles just as you are strengthening muscles throughout the rest of your body with exercise.
Dr. Anita Larrow, ND
Image Credit: Gend27 (Wikipedia) (CC BY-SA 3.0)
