|
Dear Dr. Myrtle,
My doctor tells me that I should be doing my Kegel exercises, but I'm not sure how to do them. Also, why should I be doing Kegels? Will it help my sex life?
 Why should you do Kegel exercises?
We can offer you two good reasons to exercise your pelvic floor muscles: improved vaginal health and increased sexual pleasure. The exercises described here (named for Dr. Kegel) can help you prevent or improve weakness in the pelvic floor. Kegels are particularly important for women whose pelvic floor ligaments have been stretched (common with childbirth), but most women can benefit from them. Whatever your motivation, it's never too late to begin to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
What is a "pelvic floor"?
More important than what your pelvic floor is, do you know where it is? With arms at your sides, place your hand(s) under your buttocks and sit gently on your hands. You should be able to feel your "sit bones," or the very bottom tip(s) of your pelvic bone. Between the sit bones lie your vulva (surrounding the vaginal and urethral openings, clitoral shaft and head), your perineum (between the vaginal opening and anal opening), and your anus. This space is your pelvic floor. These muscles, which surround the urethra, vagina and anus, passively keep your innards inside where they belong and provide passive closing of the urethra in women. These are also the muscles we feel as part of the internal muscle contraction that happens with arousal and orgasm.
What do Kegels have to do with me?
Pelvic floor strength varies because each individual's muscle strength and pelvic structure is different. Some women go through life without problems, while others suffer urinary incontinence, uterine prolapse (less common), or anal prolapse (less common), due in part to weakened pelvic floor muscles. Women who have weaker pelvic floor muscles may also experience less sexual pleasure than they potentially could, since stronger muscles mean stronger orgasms.
To exercise these muscles properly, a person needs direct feedback: "Am I doing this right? How can I tell if I'm exercising the right muscle?" In fact, Kegel exercises were originally done with physician coaching - the physician would place a finger into the woman's vagina and ask her to clamp her muscles down around the physician's finger. In a provider-client relationship, the two worked together to understand the anatomy, confirm the flexion of the pelvic floor, work through a schedule of exercises, and assess progress. This is a lengthy process that most health care providers simply don't have time for nowadays.
How do I find 'em on my own?
You can isolate your own pelvic floor muscles by inserting your finger(s) into your vagina and squeezing around them until you feel the pulling/squeezing sensation of the muscles around your finger(s). This is a wonderful exercise to include in your self-exploration. If you can isolate the flexion and coordination of these muscles, you can do the Kegel squeezing-and-holding exercises that most doctors recommend anytime, anywhere.
But I read somewhere that to find my "PC" muscle, I should try to stop the flow of urine while I'm peeing. What's that all about?
While the muscle you'd be squeezing to do this is a part of the pelvic floor (or pubococcygeal, or "PC") muscle group, it's by no means the entire group. By stopping the flow of urine, you're squeezing only one of these muscles. True Kegel exercises engage the entire muscle group, which is far more helpful in the long run than squeezing just the muscle around the urethra. Also, purposely stopping the flow of urine can sting, burn and just be uncomfortable, and can lead to a urethral irritation. We don't recommend it.
For strengthening the pelvic floor muscles in a comprehensive way (engaging all six muscles invloved) many women find that the feedback they get from a Kegel exercise tool (like the Exercise Egg, Betty's Barbell or Energie Exerciser) helps them locate their pelvic floor muscles more easily, and allows them to strengthen them more effectively. See our "How to use Kegel exercise tools" article, linked in the right sidebar of this page, for more information on using these tools.
What if I forget to do my Kegels?
If you forget to do these exercises (go on a trip, maybe, or just plain decide you need a vacation from Kegels), nothing is lost. You don't develop cavities from not brushing your teeth just one time, either. Just go back to the exercises when you can.
Congratulations - you are on the way to a healthier, stronger pelvic floor!
Dr. Myrtle
|
