| Kegel Exercises for Incontinence
How do you do Kegel exercises?
The first step is to find the right muscles. Imagine that
you are sitting on a marble and want to pick up the marble with
your vagina. Imagine "sucking" the marble into your
vagina.
Try not to squeeze other muscles at the same time. Be careful not to
tighten your stomach, legs, or buttocks. Squeezing the wrong muscles can
put more pressure on your bladder control muscles. Just squeeze the pelvic
muscles. Don't hold your breath. Do not practice while urinating.
Repeat, but don't overdo it. At first, find a quiet spot to practice--your
bathroom or bedroom--so you can concentrate. Pull in the pelvic muscles
and hold for a count of 3. Then relax for a count of 3. Work up to 3 sets
of 10 repeats. Start doing your pelvic muscle exercises lying down. This
is the easiest position to do them because the muscles do not need to
work against gravity. When your muscles get stronger, do your exercises
sitting or standing. Working against gravity is like adding more weight.
Be patient. Don't give up. It takes just 5 minutes a day. You may not
feel your bladder control improve for 3 to 6 weeks. Still, most people
do notice an improvement after a few weeks.
There can problems with un-assisted Kegel exercises; are you doing them
correctly, are you making progress, are you strengthening the right muscles,
etc. If you have been taught by a doctor or physical therapist you have
a good start. However, the average person can benefit from feedback. Dr.
Kegel himself developed what is now the PFX2™ Pelvic
Floor Exerciser to assist women in doing the exercises he created
properly. Since Dr. Kegel, other researchers have developed a wide range
of equipment to assist women in performing the important pelvic floor
exercises correctly. Take a look at our large selection of incontinence
relief trainers.
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