Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles with the Kegel exercises. Also called pelvic floor exercises, Kegel exercises can help you manage and prevent physical problems like incontinence, a condition when there is leakage of urine or stool that is hard to control.
As people age, muscles in the pelvic area start to weaken; this condition is known as "pelvic organ prolapse" (POP). Apart from aging, other things that put you at risk of POP are pregnancy, surgery in the pelvic area, vaginal delivery, genetics, and frequent coughing, laughing, or sneezing.
Pelvic Floor Muscles
Pelvic floor muscles support your pelvic organs, which include the uterus, urinary bladder, small intestine, and rectum. These are the muscles that you use to stop your stream of urine or to keep yourself from having a bowel movement. During orgasm, they are the muscles that contract.
What Do Kegel Exercises Do?
The Kegel Exercise improves your sexual health and performance in several ways.
It relaxes vaginal muscles.
This exercise helps your vagina to be more open, which decreases pain during sexual intercourse and pelvic exams.
It improves blood circulation.
The kegel exercises improve blood flow to the vagina and pelvic floor to help increase sexual arousal, making it easier for you to reach orgasm.
It increases vaginal lubrication.
One of the problems of women after giving birth is dryness around the vagina, which makes it painful during intercourse. Kegel exercises will help to increase wetness, thereby decreasing pain.
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How to Do Kegel Exercises?
Here are simple ways to do the kegel exercises
Sit on the toilet to pee.
When the pee comes out, try to hold your pee by squeezing your muscles. You would feel that there is a lift in the vaginal muscles. That is one Kegel. Relax your muscle, and try to do it again. However, the next time that you do this exercise do it not when your peeing as this might lead to urinary tract infections.
When you are squeezing, do not contract your buttocks (butt), abdomen (belly), and inner thigh muscles. If you notice your body lifting upon contraction, it means that you are using your buttock muscles.
If you want to make sure that you are doing it right, try to insert a finger into your vagina, and then contract your pelvic floor muscles. You are on the right track if you feel the muscles around your finger tighten, and your pelvic floor moved upward.
Start counting slowly.
First, try to squeeze your muscles for 3 seconds and then release for 3 seconds. Do it for 10 times, and that is counted as one set. If you could not do 10, try to do as many as you can and try to build up over time. Do your Kegel exercises at least two to three times a day.
How Long Before There are Results?
Most women who do it regularly see results after a few weeks or months of doing the Kegel exercise.
