Pelvic floor exercises, or kegels. We’ve all been told at some point by a healthcare professional to do them. But do we know why we should do them? Or even how to do them?
What is my pelvic floor and what does it do?
Think of the pelvic floor as a hammock. It attaches front to back (pubic bone to tailbone) and side to side (sit bone to sit bone) in which your bladder, uterus and bowel sit in.
The pelvic floor is a phenomenal group of muscles with some very important jobs:
- They help keep us upright and hold our organs up against gravity.
- They help with continence (keeping us dry)
- They help enhance our orgasms and allow vaginal penetration
- They act as shock absorbers when out walking/running
And the list goes on! The pelvic floor truly is the wonder woman of your muscles, discreet yet so powerful!
What are pelvic floor exercises and why should I do them?
The pelvic floor plays a key role in continence. As your bladder and/or rectum fills with urine and/or stool over the course of the day, your pelvic floor muscles “switch on”. This helps to “close the pipes” and prevent any leaks. Once the bladder/bowel is full, we get a signal to go to the toilet. This is where the pelvic floor lengthens and relaxes to “open the pipe doors” and let your wee or poo out.
Throughout our lives, our pelvic floor may have to work harder. For instance, during pregnancy and child birth, or even by having a prolonged, bad cough. This can cause it to get tired and not work as efficiently. The perimenopause can also has an effect on our pelvic floor and can lead it to become weaker.
A weak pelvic floor can lead to various issues like leaking when we sneeze or cough, stand up or jump (stress incontinence), struggle to orgasm, or even become a contributing factor in back and/or leg pain.
BUT, The pelvic floor is a MUSCLE! Which means, like all muscles, we can strengthen it with simple pelvic floor exercises.
Pelvic floor exercises (or kegels) are a contraction (or squeeze) of the pelvic floor. By performing these gentle pelvic floor exercises, you can start regaining muscle strength and function. If you aren’t sure how to do them, read on.
How can I strengthen my pelvic floor?
Keeping a happy pelvic floor is easy with pelvic floor exercises and can be done throughout the day, whenever you want.
It’s all about knowing where to squeeze:
To do a correct pelvic floor exercise, I’d always start side lying (as it’s easiest way to feel your pelvic floor in this position). Then bring your attention down to between your legs.
Take a deep breath in, and as you breathe out, focus on your back passage and squeeze as if you’re trying to stop yourself from passing wind. Then “zip up” your pelvic floor by then bringing your attention to your vagina and squeezing as if you’re in a bath full of eels and you don’t want one going up (crude, I know, but always gets the best squeeze)! Finally, squeeze as if you’re trying to stop yourself passing urine mid-flow. Then relax the squeeze, and breathe back in again.
Once you’ve got a hang of how to squeeze, challenge yourself to regular pelvic floor exercises and check:
- Your ability to contract and relax with your breathing (exhale = contract, inhale = relax).
- Quick squeezes – Fast 1-2 seconds contract and relax.
- Endurance/long hold squeezes – How long can you hold a contraction for while still breathing? 5 seconds? 10 seconds? More?
- Your ability to vary the intensity of a contraction. Can you contract 25% effort? 50%? 75%? Max effort? What do each of those feel like?
- Your ability to contract with a cough.
If any of the above challenges feel slightly harder, practice it more, as that is where your pelvic floor muscle may be struggling the most.
Once you’ve got your pelvic floor squeeze down pat, introduce it to all the areas where you might be having problems. Going to sneeze? Squeeze just before you sneeze. Want to stand up leak free? Squeeze before you stand. Or, just do them when you’ve got your feet up watching telly. It doesn’t matter where or when you do them, just do them!
Pelvic floor exercises – next steps
Doing your pelvic floor exercises every day can help strengthen your pelvic floor and can help stop leaks. They can also take your orgasms to the next level and prevent back or leg pain.
If you’re still struggling, and want more feedback on how to properly perform a contraction or relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles, reach out!
We run an 8 week pelvic strength exercise class for women in Sheffield. Sign up here!