There are many reasons to do pelvic floor exercises, also known as Kegels. “How many kegels should I be doing every day?” “How do I know if I’m doing Kegels right?” These are questions I commonly hear as a pelvic floor physical therapist. The answer is not straightforward and deserves some explanation. There is a lot of misleading information that can lead you to believe kegels are simple and everyone should do as much as they can for a healthy pelvic floor.
Misconceptions About Kegels
What many people don’t realize is that doing kegels without instructions and a more comprehensive treatment plan can lead to problems like chronic pelvic floor muscle tightness.
In this blog post, I will talk about a kegel, how to do a kegel, when you should and should not do kegels, and how pelvic floor and core strength work together to give you much more than just a kegel.
What is a kegel?
A kegel is a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. These are a group of muscles that sit like a hammock at the base of the pelvis. The word “kegel” is named after Dr. Arnold Kegel, a gynecologist. He first described exercises for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles in the 1940s. Dr. Kegel’s exercises were initially used to help women with urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. However, they have since been used to improve sexual function and overall pelvic health in both men and women.
Work With a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist to Create a Plan That Works For You
In order to have a healthy pelvic floor, you need to know much more than how to do a kegel. In order to have good bladder and bowel habits as well as sexual function, the pelvic floor muscles should be able to contract and relax effectively. They need to relax in order to empty the bladder or bowels or have pleasure with sex. Additionally, they need to contract to hold back urine, gas and to have an orgasm. They also need to be strong to support your core strength. A pelvic floor physical therapist can help you determine which approach is best for you.
How do you do a kegel?
To do a kegel, you contract your pelvic floor muscles like you are holding back gas or urine. You should not feel your buttocks or thigh muscles tighten. Additionally, you should not have to hold your breath or move your pelvis. If you have difficulty feeling a kegel, it may be due to muscle weakness or tightness. This is a reason to see a pelvic floor physical therapist to help you determine if Kegels are appropriate for you.
How do I know if I need to do Kegels?
Kegels are used to strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles. Most people don’t realize that your pelvic floor muscles can be weak because they are either too tight or too loose. Loose pelvic floor muscles are most common in women who have had birth.
Muscles May Be Too Tight
Another reason you might have a weakness is if the pelvic floor muscles are too tight. Tight pelvic floor muscles are often a contributing factor to pelvic pain or pain with sex. If they are too tight, they will not be able to tighten further when you try and do a kegel. Then you need to work on breathing techniques to relax the pelvic floor.
What does the core have to do with it?
Your core muscles form a container that uses pressure to control strength, voice, bladder, and bowel control. The core is made up of 14 different pelvic floor muscles, abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis), and back muscles (multifidi). It is also controlled by breathing through the movement of the diaphragm.
Your Muscles Must Work Together
These muscles all need to work together in order to brace your core in preparation for activities. These can include things like taking a step, squatting, lifting, or exercising. If you are having urine leakage with these activities, it is called stress urinary incontinence. It can be treated by addressing your core strength as a whole by a pelvic floor physical therapist.
The bottom line is, if you try Kegels and they aren’t working, a pelvic floor physical therapist can help you figure out the root cause of the problem and give you more effective exercises.
How can pelvic floor physical therapy help?
When my patients come with complaints or questions about their pelvic floor, we do a thorough assessment of their breathing, pelvic floor strength, and core strength. This determines what the weak links are and how we can help them with whatever their challenge is. Then we design breathing exercises, strengthening exercises, stretches, or self-massage techniques to help them relax the areas that are too tight and strengthen the areas that are too weak.
Prepare for Childbirth and Post-Partum Recovery
For women who are pregnant, we can help prepare for childbirth and post-partum recovery by learning how to contract the pelvic floor muscles and other core muscles. After your 6-week post-partum visit, your midwife or gynecologist will clear you for exercise, Often when I talk to women they either aren’t sure where to start or are running into issues like pain or leakage when they try to jump back into their old routines.
A Customized Plan Created In Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help design a customized exercise progression including Kegels to help restore core strength and prevent things like chronic pelvic floor tightness, prolapse, or urinary leakage from becoming a problem in the future.
Ready to Get Started? Reach Out to a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist in Washington, DC Today.
If you have read this far, I hope you are starting to realize how complicated assessing pelvic floor muscles can be. There is a lot of misleading information out there, so the best way to answer your questions is to have a consultation with a pelvic floor physical therapist.
Don’t go it alone. Contact Dr. Hope for a physical therapy assessment to see what kind of pelvic floor exercise is right for you.
To schedule an initial assessment or a free 30-minute phone consultation, you can send me an email at DrHope@restorehopept.com.