Many factors can weaken the pelvic floor in women,such as pregnancy, childbirth,aging, and weight gain.
What is Pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor is really a series of muscles and tissues that forms a sling at the bottom of your pelvis. This sling holds your organs in place. A weak pelvic floor may lead to issues such as the inability to control your bowels or bladder or prolapse. The pelvic floor muscles support the womb, the bladder and the bowels. If these muscles are weak, pelvic organs may lower into a woman’s vagina which may cause discomfort or also may lead to urinary incontinence.
What are Kegel Exercises?
Kegel exercises are simple clench-and-release exercises that you can do to make the muscles of your pelvic floor stronger. Your pelvis is the area between your hips that holds your reproductive organs. Once you understand Kegel exercises, you can do them anytime and anywhere — in the privacy of your own home or while commuting or while waiting in a queue.
How to do Kegel exercises?
While starting with Kegel exercises it is important to find right set of muscles which can be tricky initially. You can also locate the muscles by trying to stop your urine mid-flow. The muscles you use for this action are your pelvic floor muscles. Get used to how they feel when they contract and relax. However, you should use this method for learning purposes only. It isn’t a good idea to start and stop your urine regularly, or to frequently do Kegel exercises when you have a full bladder. Incomplete emptying of the bladder can raise your risk for a urinary tract infection (UTI). Biofeedback training can also be very useful in helping to identify and isolate your pelvic floor muscles.
Benefits of Kegel exercises
Always empty your bladder before doing Kegel exercises. As a beginner, you should find a quiet, private place to sit or to lie down before doing your exercises. As you practice, you’ll find you can do them anywhere. When you start doing Kegel exercises, contract the muscles in your pelvic floor for a count of three, then relax them for a count of five. Keep going until you’ve done 8-10 repetitions. Over the next several days, practice until you can hold your muscles contract for a count of 10.
Repetitions- 10 - Sets- 3 in a day
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see the results you want immediately. It takes few months to have an effect on incontinence. They also work differently for each person. Some people show great improvement in muscle control and urinary continence. However, Kegels may prevent your condition from getting worse.
Caution
If you feel pain in your abdomen or back after a Kegel exercise session, it’s a sign that you’re not doing them correctly. Always remember that — even as you contract your pelvic floor muscles — the muscles in your abdomen, back, buttocks, and sides should remain relaxed Finally, don’t overdo your Kegel exercises. If you work the muscles too hard, they’ll become tired or fatigued and won’t be able to perform their function.