Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. The concept dates to the late 1940s, when Dr. Arnold Kegel developed these exercises to assist women who experienced incontinence following childbirth, according to the health website Medline Plus, operated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Today, kegel exercises are popular not only for treating incontinence but also for improving sexual performance. Both women and men can use them.
Uses
Kegels help your urethral and rectal sphincters to function more effectively, according to Medline Plus. Men and women can practice them to increase control of the sexual response cycle, leading to more pleasurable experiences, according to the University of California-Santa Barbara's SexInfoOnline website. Also, women often use the exercises to help with urinary stress incontinence, where urine leaks during exercise or laughing, coughing or sneezing. Men sometimes use them to deal with urinary incontinence following prostate surgery. Both men and women can try kegels for fecal incontinence.
Identification
Finding the pelvic floor muscles is a challenge for some people. A common mistake is to contract the thigh or abdominal muscles rather than the pelvic floor muscles, according to Medline Plus. One way to get a feel for the right technique is to cut off your urine flow midstream; these are the muscles employed. Also, women can place a finger in the vagina, or men the rectum, and tighten the muscles. Women can try a device called a vaginal cone; the idea is to try to hold it in place. If nothing else works, ask your doctor about electrical stimulation and biofeedback to locate the correct muscles.
Routine
You should do kegels with an empty bladder. You first tighten the pelvic floor muscles and count to 10, then relax and count to 10 again. You repeat the procedure 10 times, three times per day. Try them anywhere. The National Association for Continence suggests doing a rep while watching commercials on television, while driving to work, while waiting in line or while brushing your teeth. Eventually, you will be able to do more repetitions and hold them longer.
Progress
Kegels can typically help your sex life within three to four weeks, causing you to have more intense sensations during sex and more powerful orgasms, according to SexInfoOnline.com. Women who have had trouble achieving orgasm may find it easier to reach a climax. Used for urinary incontinence, kegels may take a bit longer to work---four to 12 weeks---and the progress may be subtle at first. The periods you spend between bathroom breaks may grow gradually longer, according to the National Association for Continence. You may notice that your underwear stays drier instead of feeling constantly damp, and you might have fewer accidents.
Warning
More is not necessarily better with kegels. Trying to push yourself too soon toward more frequency and repetitions will not necessarily lead to quicker progress, according to Medline Plus. It can instead tire out your muscles and lead to urine leakage.
