Many women - and men - may have heard about Kegel exercises. But so many of our patients wonder what exactly they are and how, precisely, to do them. Kegels can be an excellent exercise to help improve your urinary health as well as your sex life - so learning about what they are and how best to perform them can really contribute to your wellbeing.
Diligent patients performing kegels at home. However there are shortcuts to achieving better pelvic floor health and strength, we use a HIFEM technology Kegel chair in our office. You can read about at-home kegels below - or learn more about our supercharged approach called Emsella - Emsella for women or Emsella for men.
WHAT IS A KEGEL?
Kegel exercises (aka Kegels or pelvic floor muscle exercises) are a simple contract and release exercise aimed at strengthening the pelvic muscles - or the pelvic floor. These support the organs in the pelvis including the bladder, the rectum and, in the female pelvis, the uterus.
Dr. Arnold Kegel, an American gynecologist discovered that pelvic floor exercises effectively strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. He published a paper in 1942 noting that diligent female patients typically begin to notice symptomatic relief from urinary incontinence after 2 to 4 weeks of exercises. In follow-up examinations with patients who followed his Kegel exercise routines, Dr. Kegel discovered that patients doing Kegel exercises regularly were achieving orgasm more easily, more frequently, and more intensely.
WHAT DO KEGELS DO?
Strengthening pelvic floor muscles can help both men and women in a number of ways:
-
Allows the bladder, uterus, anus, and rectum function normally.
-
Prevents urine leaks in people who have "stress incontinence" (urine leakage when they cough, laugh, sneeze, or strain).
-
Controls the sudden urges to urinate – helping people with "urinary urgency" or "urge incontinence."
-
Controls the release of gas or bowel movements.
FOR WOMEN:
-
Aids the recovery of the pelvic floor after pregnancy and delivery and renews vaginal strength post-childbirth.
-
Can help with a condition called "pelvic organ prolapse" which is when the organs in the lower pelvis drop down and press against or bulge into the vagina.
-
May improve sexual health and pleasure by:
-
relaxing the vaginal muscles, allowing the vagina to be more open, which is especially helpful for women experiencing pain during sexual intercourse.
-
improving blood circulation to your vagina and pelvic floor, which can help increase sexual arousal.
-
making it easier to reach orgasm.
-
increasing vaginal lubrication.
-
FOR MEN
-
Kegels have been shown to help reduce urine leaks in men who have had surgery to treat prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate.
-
Kegels may increase men’s sexual pleasure through:
-
greater control of ejaculation.
-
improvement in the quality of erections.
-
enhanced orgasm sensation.
-
HOW TO DO A KEGEL
It is important to learn which muscles to tighten - below are some helpful methods:
-
People with female or male anatomy – squeeze the muscles you would use to avoid passing gas.
-
People with female anatomy – place a finger inside your vagina and squeeze the muscles around your finger. Or imagine that you are sitting on a marble and have to pick it up using your vagina.
-
People with male anatomy – squeeze the muscles that control the flow of urine.
No matter how you approach doing pelvic muscle exercises, it's important to know that the muscles involved are not in your thighs, belly, or buttocks. After you learn which muscles to tighten, you can do the exercises in any position (standing, sitting, or lying down).
HOW OFTEN TO PERFORM KEGEL EXERCISES
A common approach is to try to do 10 sets of the exercises, three times a day:
-
Squeeze your pelvic muscles.
-
Hold the muscles tight for about 10 seconds.
-
Relax the muscles completely.
Continue this routine for at least a few months. You will probably notice results - likely a few weeks to several months after beginning.
IF KEGELS DON’T WORK - CONSIDER PROKEGEL
Kegel exercises require diligence and persistence. If you aren’t seeing results, or are impatient and feel like you need a better, faster alternative, we have had great success with our in-office kegel trainer called PROKEGEL. PROKEGEL is a non-invasive, FDA-approved treatment that tones your bladder and pelvic floor muscles, returning neuromuscular control to the pelvic floor. PROKEGEL uses focused, high-intensity electromagnetic technology to stimulate the deep muscles of the pelvic floor, causing them to contract. A single session produces thousands of supramaximal pelvic floor muscle contractions, which serve to re-educate men’s pelvic floor muscles. It produces the same result as doing 10,000 kegel exercises in a half hour. We call it the Kegel Throne.
