You squeeze your pelvic floor muscles when performing Kegel exercises. These are the muscles you use to stop the flow of urine midstream or to prevent passing gas.
Understanding Pelvic Floor Muscles
The pelvic floor muscles form a hammock-like structure that supports the pelvic organs. They play a vital role in:
- Continence: Helping to control urination and bowel movements.
- Sexual function: Contributing to sexual arousal and orgasm.
- Core stability: Supporting the spine and pelvis.
How To Identify Pelvic Floor Muscles
Identifying your pelvic floor muscles is the first step to doing Kegel exercises correctly. Here are a few ways to find them:
- Stop urine flow: As mentioned earlier, while urinating, try to stop mid-flow. The muscles you contract are your pelvic floor muscles. Don't make this a regular practice, just for identification purposes.
- Imagine lifting: Imagine you are trying to lift your pelvic floor upwards inside your body. This will help you feel the muscles contracting.
- Anal contraction: Contract the muscles around your anus, as if you were trying to stop passing gas. This will also help you feel the pelvic floor muscles.
Correct Kegel Exercise Technique
Once you've identified your pelvic floor muscles, you can start performing Kegel exercises:
- Empty your bladder: Ensure your bladder is empty before starting.
- Find a comfortable position: You can perform Kegel exercises sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Contract the muscles: Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as if you were trying to stop urination or hold back gas.
- Hold the contraction: Maintain the squeeze for 3-5 seconds, or as long as you can comfortably.
- Relax: Slowly release the muscles and relax for 3-5 seconds.
- Repeat: Repeat the contraction and relaxation cycle for 10-15 repetitions.
- Increase repetitions: As you get stronger, you can gradually increase the duration of the contraction and the number of repetitions.
Benefits of Kegel Exercises
Regularly performing Kegel exercises can offer many benefits, including:
- Prevention of urine leakage: Kegel exercises are often recommended to help prevent or treat urinary incontinence, especially after pregnancy and childbirth. The reference indicates that Kegel exercises can strengthen pelvic muscles that have been weakened by age, pregnancy, childbirth, and surgery. They may help prevent or treat urine leakage.
- Improved sexual function: Strong pelvic floor muscles can improve sexual arousal, orgasm, and satisfaction.
- Better bowel control: Kegel exercises can also help with fecal incontinence.
- Enhanced core strength: These exercises contribute to overall core stability.
Important Considerations
- Avoid squeezing other muscles: Make sure you are not squeezing your abdominal, buttock, or thigh muscles. These are not the muscles involved in Kegel exercises.
- Breathe normally: Don't hold your breath while doing Kegels.
- Consistency is key: For best results, practice Kegel exercises daily.
- Consult a healthcare professional: If you are unsure if you are performing Kegel exercises correctly or if you have any concerns, talk to your doctor or a physical therapist.
