Kegel or pelvic floor muscles exercises help strengthen weak muscles around the bladder. When these muscles are weak, you can leak urine.
What are the pelvic floor muscles?
The pelvic floor is made up of muscles that give support to the uterus, bladder, and rectum. These muscles also support, lift, and control muscles that close the urethra (the tube that urine passes through).
How do I do the Kegel exercise?
To do a kegel exercise, you relax and tighten the muscles you use to control the flow of urine. Kegels exercises are easy to do and can be done anytime.
How do I find the right muscle?
To find the right muscle, try the following:
- Do not tighten your buttocks or thigh muscles when doing these exercises. Relax your stomach muscles as much as possible.
- To check that you are doing the exercise right, insert one finger into the vagina and squeeze the muscle. If you are doing the exercise the right way, you should feel the muscle tighten around your finger.
What are the steps to do these exercises?
- Start by squeezing the muscle for a count of four (4) then relax for a count of four (4). At first, you may only be able to squeeze your muscles for 1 to 2 seconds but as your muscles get stronger, you will be able to hold the count of four (4).
- When squeezing to a count of four (4) becomes easy, you can increase the squeezing to a count of eight (8). Do this for five (5) minutes two (2) times a day.
- Remember to relax in between each muscle squeeze: let the muscles go loose; do not push down.
Where can I do these exercises?
When you first start doing the exercises, find a place where you can do them without being interrupted. After you have done them for a while, you can practice the exercises anytime and anywhere. It often takes 6 to 12 weeks to see results if you do these exercises regularly.
