Kegel Exercises And Sexual Health
Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) exercises, also called Kegel exercises, are simple clench-and-release exercises that you can do to make the muscles of your pelvic floor stronger. Kegel exercises can even improve your sexual health. They target the muscles of your pelvic floor, also known as your pubococcygeal (PC) muscles.
When you’re young, your PC muscles are typically taut and strong. As you age, they can become weakened and stretched. They can also become too weak or loose as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, surgery for prostate cancer, and bladder or bowel problems. This can negatively affect bladder control and even sexual health. But just as you can strengthen your arm or leg muscles through regular workouts, you can strengthen your PC muscles with Kegel exercises.
What Are Kegel Exercises
The pelvic floor is really a series of muscles and tissues that forms a sling, or hammock, at the bottom of your pelvis. Your pelvis is the area between your hips that holds your reproductive organs. This sling holds your organs in place, promoting good bladder control and sexual function.
Both men and women have PC muscles. They provide support to your pelvic organs, including your urethra, bladder, and bowel. Kegel exercises can prevent or control urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor problems. Once you understand Kegel exercises, you can do them anytime and anywhere—in the privacy of your own home or while waiting in line at the bank.
Why Do Kegel Exercises
Both women and men can benefit from Kegel exercises. Many factors can weaken the pelvic floor in women, such as pregnancy, childbirth, aging, and weight gain.
The pelvic floor muscles support the womb, the bladder, and the bowels. If the muscles are weak, these pelvic organs may lower into a woman’s vagina. Besides being extremely uncomfortable, this can also cause urinary incontinence. Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum. You will benefit from doing Kegel exercises if you:
- Leak a few drops of urine while sneezing, laughing or coughing (stress incontinence)
- Have a strong, sudden urge to urinate just before losing a large amount of urine (urinary urge incontinence)
- Leak stool (fecal incontinence)
Kegel exercises can also be done during pregnancy or after childbirth to improve these symptoms. Men may also experience weakening in the muscles of their pelvic floor as they age. This can lead to incontinence of both urine and feces, especially if the man has had prostate surgery.
How Kegel Exercises Help Women
Dr. Arnold Kegel originally created Kegel exercises in the late 1940s to help women regain control of their bladders after childbirth. Since then, several studies have found Kegel exercises can help treat several conditions in women. For example, a research review in Actas Urológicas Españolas suggests they can help improve urinary continence in women. Another study in the World Journal of Urology suggests they can help treat not only stress urinary incontinence, but also pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction in women and men.
How Kegel Exercises Help Men
You’ve probably heard about Kegel exercises for women—but what about for men? There has been less research on Kegel exercises for men. But early findings have been promising. For example, a research review in Urology suggests these pelvic floor-strengthening exercises can help restore bladder control after prostate surgery. For some men, they also help treat erectile dysfunction and prevent premature ejaculation. They might even increase the intensity of your orgasms.
Locating Your Pelvic Floor Muscles
Kegel exercises are very important—they strengthen the muscles that support the bladder. Strong pelvic floor muscles go a long way toward warding off incontinence. Dr. Arnold H. Kegel, an American gynecologist, developed these exercises in the late 1940s, as a nonsurgical way to prevent women from leaking urine. They also work for men plagued by incontinence and sexual dysfunctions.
Although Kegel exercises themselves are simple, finding the right muscles to exercise isn’t. One-third or more of women and men who do Kegels are actually working their abdominal, buttock, or inner thigh muscles and therefore don’t reap the benefits. Doing Kegels right means finding your pelvic floor muscles and working them. Several techniques are useful for finding the right set of muscles to exercise.
Finding the Pelvic Floor Muscles in Women
For beginners, finding the right set of muscles can be tricky. One way to find them is by placing a clean finger inside your vagina and tightening your vaginal muscles around your finger.
You can also locate the muscles by trying to stop your urine mid-flow. The muscles you use for this action are your pelvic floor muscles. Become accustomed to how it feels to contract and relax them. However, you should use this method for learning purposes only. It isn’t a good idea to start and stop your urine regularly, or to do Kegel exercises when you have a full bladder. Incomplete emptying of the bladder can raise your risk for a urinary tract infection (UTI).
When You’re Having Trouble
If you’re having trouble doing Kegel exercises, don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Talk with your gynecologist if you still aren’t sure you’ve found the right muscles. Your doctor or other health care provider can give you important feedback so that you learn to isolate and exercise the correct muscles.
In some cases, they may recommend using an object called a vaginal weighted cone (Kegel weights) or biofeedback to help. To use a vaginal cone, you insert it into your vagina and use pelvic muscle contractions to hold it in place during your daily activities. During a biofeedback session, your doctor or other health care provider inserts a pressure sensor into your vagina or rectum. As you relax and contract your pelvic floor muscles, a monitor will measure and display your pelvic floor activity.
Finding the Pelvic Floor Muscles in Men
Men often have the same kind of trouble when it comes to identifying the correct group of pelvic floor muscles. For men, one way to find them is to insert a finger into the rectum and try to squeeze it—without tightening the muscles of the abdomen, buttocks, or thighs. Another helpful trick is to tense the muscles that keep you from passing gas. If you’ve identified the right muscles, you’ll feel the contraction more in the back of the pelvic area than the front.
If you’re still having trouble, practice stopping the flow of urine. As with women, this is a reliable way to locate the pelvic floor muscles, but the same warning applies. It shouldn’t become a regular practice. Incomplete emptying of the bladder can raise your risk for a urinary tract infection (UTI). Biofeedback can also help men locate the pelvic floor muscles. If you’re having trouble locating them on your own, you may want to make an appointment with your doctor (urologist).
Goals and Benefits of Kegel Exercises
Always empty your bladder before doing Kegel exercises. As a beginner, you should find a quiet, private place to sit or to lie down before doing your exercises. As you practice, you’ll find you can do them anywhere, and no one will ever know.
When you first start doing Kegel exercises, tense the muscles in your pelvic floor for a count of three, then relax them for a count of three. Keep going until you’ve done 10 repetitions. Over the next several days, practice until you can hold your muscles tense for a count of 10. Your goal should be to do three sets of 10 repetitions every day. The more frequent you do these, the faster your PC muscles will strengthen. The stronger your PC muscles, the faster and greater the improvements in your sexual health.
Step-By-Step Guide to Performing Kegel Exercises
Start by understanding what Kegel exercises can do for you. Once you’ve found your PC muscles, practice flexing them—by following these instructions for contracting and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles. Here’s a step-by-step guide to doing Kegel exercises correctly.
Practice Contractions
Both men and women can perform Kegel exercises in basically the same way. The first step is to find your PC muscles. You can identify these muscles while urinating. Simply stop urinating mid-stream. The muscles you use to hold your urine back are your PC muscles. They’re the same muscles you can use to avoid passing gas. If you’re male, your testicles will also rise when you contract them.
Choose your position. Start by lying on your back until you get the feel of contracting the pelvic floor muscles. When you have the hang of it, practice while sitting and standing.
Contract and Relax
- Contract and hold your PC muscles for 5 to 20 seconds
- Then release them and relax for 3 to 5 seconds.
- Repeat this simple exercise 10 to 20 times in a row, three to four times a day.
Keep other muscles relaxed. While you’re doing Kegel exercises, try not to tighten other muscles, such as your abs, butt, or thighs; or lift your pelvis. Place a hand gently on your belly to detect unwanted abdominal action. Don’t hold your breath either. Instead, keep the rest of your body still and relaxed, while breathing normally.
Extend the time. Gradually build the number of contractions you complete and the amount of time you hold each contraction for. Work your way up to 10-second contractions and relaxations.
Aim high. Try to do at least 30 to 40 Kegel exercises every day. Spreading them throughout the day is better than doing them all at once. Since these are stealth exercises that no one notices but you, try to sneak in a few when waiting at a stoplight, riding an elevator, or standing in a grocery line.
Diversify. You can also try variations on this basic exercise. For example, practice short, 2 to 3 second contractions and releases (sometimes called “quick flicks”), several times in succession. Or practice contracting them very slowly. You can also vary your position, completing Kegel exercises while standing, sitting, or lying down.
When to Do Your Kegels
Make Kegel exercises part of your daily routine. You can do Kegel exercises, also known as pelvic floor muscle training, just about any time, whether you’re sitting at your desk or relaxing on the couch.
When to Expect Results
If you do Kegel exercises regularly, you can expect results—such as less frequent urine leakage—within about a few weeks to a few months. According to the Mayo Clinic, Kegel exercises may take as long as a few months to have an effect on urinary incontinence. For continued benefits, make Kegel exercises a permanent part of your daily routine.
They also work differently for each person. Some people show great improvement in muscle control and urinary continence. However, Kegels may prevent your condition from getting worse.
Caution
If you feel pain in your abdomen or back after a Kegel exercise session, it’s a sign that you’re not doing them correctly. Always remember that—even as you contract your pelvic floor muscles—the muscles in your abdomen, back, buttocks, and sides should remain loose.
Kegel Exercises in an Emergency
If you leak urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh, bend over, or lift something heavy (stress incontinence), doing one or more Kegels before a “trigger” may be enough to prevent any leakage. If you have the urge to urinate and doubt you are going to make it to the toilet, doing Kegels may get you safely to a restroom.
They Cost You Nothing to Try
Kegel exercises are low risk, easy to do anywhere, and cost nothing to try. So what do you have to lose?
Sources:
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER)
Kegel exercises: A how-to guide for women
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283
Nov. 21, 2018
Healthline Media
Kegel Exercises for Men: Do They Work?
https://www.healthline.com/health/kegel-exercises-for-men
Medically reviewed by Graham Rogers, MD — Written by Colleen M. Story — Updated on September 14, 2017
Healthline Media
Kegel Exercises
https://www.healthline.com/health/kegel-exercises
Medically reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT — Written by Debra Stang — Updated on September 17, 2018
Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University
Step-by-step guide to performing Kegel exercises
https://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/step-by-step-guide-to-performing-kegel-exercises
Updated: September 16, 2019, Published: January, 2015