All Posts tagged Strengthen pelvic floor muscles

Pelvic Floor Exercises

By 22 Apr, 2023 Diet & Exercise, Lifestyle Tips, Menopause, Peri-Menopause, Peri-Menopause, Pregnancy, Prevention, Queer Health, Reproductive health, Sexual health, Women's Health , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Maybe the first word that comes to mind when you hear about Pelvic Floor Exercises is “Kegel”! Yes, that’s correct– Kegel exercises are one way to exercise your pelvic floor muscles, but they are not the only ones. Kegel balls have lately become popular as an easier and faster way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, increase sexual pleasure, and prevent incontinence (especially if you were Assigned Female at Birth–AFAB). However, there is much debate over them, so before we worry about that we will provide some information on the benefits of pelvic floor exercises in general. 

What are the benefits for AFAB people?

  • Pelvic floor exercises improve bladder and bowel function control, which can be extremely helpful after childbirth or in older years. It can help with constipation, and with incontinence. 
  • Strong muscles on your pelvic floor can also significantly reduce the risk of prolapse.
  • If you are considering childbirth, they do support vaginal delivery, and strong pelvic muscles will also greatly improve your recovery from childbirth and other gynecological surgeries. 
  • They are reported to help with vaginal contractions and blood flow during sex, thus increasing sexual satisfaction and orgasmic potential. 

Like any self-care routine, and especially an exercise routine that helps you strengthen your muscles, training your pelvic floor muscles can help you increase your social confidence and overall quality of life.  

How do they help with pregnancy and delivery? 

Your pelvic floor muscles are first in line to be affected if you become pregnant; the weight of your growing baby will undeniably put extra strain on the pelvic floor. In addition to the weight, hormonal changes in pregnancy cause your muscles to soften and stretch more easily. That can lead to bladder/ bowel problems while you are pregnant and after giving birth. 

It is recommended to start strengthening your pelvic floor as soon as you learn that you are pregnant. Strong muscles in the area will reduce the risk of bowel or bladder problems during your pregnancy, you will learn how to control your muscles to assist with contractions during childbirth (in the case of vaginal delivery), and with a strong pelvic floor you will return to normal much easier after delivery. 

What happens to the pelvic floor after menopause?

After menopause, the production of estrogen in our bodies significantly reduces. This can lead to weaker or stiffer muscles on the pelvic floor. Connective tissues may provide less support, and along with a lifetime of bad habits and lack of specific exercise, we may be in danger of experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction. 

The pelvic floor muscles are part of your spine and pelvis. If they are struggling, you may experience pain in your lower back. Weak pelvic muscles can also lead to Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), which means you may not be able to control your bladder during seemingly simple activities, like laughing, coughing, or sneezing. More serious pelvic dysfunctions can be pelvic organ prolapse–which can be avoided with pelvic floor rehabilitation–and bowel and urinary urgency, where we may not be able to control the urge to urinate or defecate and incidents of leakage may occur. 

No matter your age, it is never too soon or too late to start looking into pelvic floor exercises or rehabilitation that are best for you, your physical condition, and your abilities. 

https://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/pages/pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises-for-women.html 

https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/pelvic-floor-exercises 

https://provenancerehab.com/aging-and-the-pelvic-floor/ 

 

 

More

Your Vagina Needs Exercise Too

By 04 Dec, 2015 Diet & Exercise, Sexual health , , , ,

We crunch our abs, curl our biceps, and do countless squats to obtain a perfectly rounded butt, so why do we neglect our vaginal muscles? As women, our vaginas are incredibly important and versatile. The vagina acts as the birth canal, an outflow track for menstrual blood, and an in-flow track for sperm. The vaginal muscles can weaken over time, however, due to age, childbirth, and even smoking, resulting in issues such as incontinence. By making an effort to keep the vagina strong over time, women can experience more comfort and confidence as they age.

Signs of Weakened Vaginal Muscles
The signs of weakening vaginal muscles may include:

  • Leaking urine when coughing or sneezing, or difficulty emptying the bladder
  • Passing gas unintentionally
  • Posterior prolapse, a soft bulge of tissue in the vagina that may or may not protrude through the vaginal opening
  • A constant sensation of pressure in the pelvic region

How to Strengthen Vaginal Muscles
The secret to stronger vaginal muscles lies in a simple exercise known as the Kegel.

Kegel exercises are clench-and-release movements that can strengthen the pelvic floor — a series of muscles and tissues that forms a sling at the bottom of the pelvis. The pelvic muscles are essential, as they hold our organs in place. Kegels are not difficult, but in order for them to be the most effective, they must be done using the proper technique. As an added bonus, regular Kegel exercises can help women to be more in touch with their bodies, helping them to isolate sensations during sex and enhance their sexual satisfaction.

The best way to learn how to isolate the pelvic muscles is to Kegel during urination. When you start to urinate, clench your muscle to stop the flow of urine, and hold for 10 seconds. This technique will help you to identify how it feels to properly engage the pelvic floor muscles. Once you can easily identify and contract your pelvic muscles, try to incorporate Kegel exercises into your daily routine, ideally doing 50 Kegel contractions that are held for 10 seconds each, every day. Since no equipment is needed, you can Kegel anywhere, at any time. Try to Kegel during stoplights, during TV commercial breaks, or while reading.

With routine Kegeling, most women see improvement in the strength of their pelvic floor muscles within six weeks. If you Kegel regularly but do not see the desired results, talk to your GYN. You may benefit from more intense, dedicated work with a pelvic physical therapist — a specialist who is trained to help women improve the strength of their pelvic floor muscles. If you still aren’t feeling the results you want, your GYN may want to test you for pelvic floor dysfunction, a disorder that occurs when pelvic floor muscles are weak or tight, or when there is an impairment of the sacroiliac joint, lower back, coccyx, or hip joints. The majority of women though, will feel improvement through the simple addition of Kegel exercises into a daily routine, and as a bonus, will finally feel productive during television commercial breaks.

More