You may have come across some people who complain about leaking urine while sneezing, laughing, or coughing. Well, they are certainly not lying. This is because their pelvic floor has lost its strength.

This condition is common and can happen to anyone. So, it is crucial that you pay attention to your pelvic floor to retain its strength.

So, let's first explore what is the pelvic floor and how it loses its strength.

What is the pelvic floor?


The pelvic floor consists of muscles that support the bowel, bladder, urethra, vagina, and anus. These muscles assist you in essential functions such as pooping, peeing, ejection, ejaculation, and having sex. In women, they provide support during vaginal delivery.

How to locate the pelvic floor?

You can feel your pelvic floor through this simple exercise:

Imagine that you’re peeing or passing feces suddenly you stop the flow by squeezing in. The group of muscles which helped you to suddenly stop the flow is the pelvic floor. 

Causes of weak pelvic floor

The following are the causes of the weak pelvic floor:

  • Pregnancy
  • Obesity
  • Advancing age
  • Sexual abuse
  • Chronic constipation
  • Aftermath of prostate surgery

A weak pelvic floor can lead to the following conditions such as:

  • Urge incontinence (frequent urge to pee and inability to hold it)
  • Fecal incontinence (less control over bowel movements)
  • Anal incontinence (loss of control when you pass gas)
  • Pelvic organ prolapse (no longer support for uterus, rectum, and bladder region)

How to strengthen your pelvic floor?

You can strengthen pelvic muscles through pelvic floor exercises also known as Kegels.

Kegel exercises are a set of exercises that mainly target the muscles of the pelvic floor. There are many types of pelvic floor exercises, one of the simple exercises is the following:

  • Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles for 8 seconds as if you are not letting your urine pass. Breathe freely as you squeeze
  • Then relax your pelvic floor muscles for 8 seconds. Continue to breathe freely
  • Repeat this sequence of squeezing (for 8 seconds) and relaxing (for 8 seconds) for eight times
  • Perform this Kegel three times a day
  • You can increase the seconds from 8 to 12 but keep in mind not to overdo it

Within four to six months you will start noticing that the strength of your pelvic muscle has increased.

Now you know the importance of your pelvic floor muscles that you were not paying attention to until now. Start including Kegels in your daily exercise routine. However, if you have any severe underlying pelvic floor condition, reach out to your doctor for appropriate treatment.

Disclaimer: The content (video/text) presented on this page should not be considered as a substitute for medical expertise. Please "DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE" and seek professional help regarding any health conditions or concerns. Practo will not be responsible for any act or omission arising from the interpretation of the content present on this page.