Practicing Kegel exercises can help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which support your bladder, bowel and uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic. Kegel exercises can help you control urination and prevent urinary incontinence in some cases. If you are pregnant, Kegel exercises might help you have an easier labor and delivery, and they can help minimize bladder leakage and hemorrhoids during your pregnancy, says the American Pregnancy Association.
Step 1
Lie down on the floor or a bed, and gently insert a finger into your vagina.
Step 2
Squeeze your muscles to try to contract your vagina around your finger. You should feel it tighten and feel the bottom of your pelvic floor muscles move upward.
Step 3
Relax your muscles and repeat the exercise, focusing on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles.
Step 4
Hold each contraction for five seconds and relax for five seconds once you are able to isolate your muscles and perform the exercises without inserting your finger into your vagina.
Step 5
Build up to holding the contraction for 10 seconds and relaxing for 10 seconds. Perform 10 repetitions at least three times a day, recommends the Mayo Clinic.
Tips and Warnings
- Once you have found the correct muscles, you do not have to lie down to perform Kegel exercises. It might even be easier for you to remember to do them if you perform a few contractions while stopped at a red light, while cooking or while relaxing. Breathe deeply while you perform Kegel exercises. You should not tighten your abdominal muscles or buttocks when contracting your pelvic floor muscles, so you should be able to breathe freely. Your doctor can help you if you are having trouble finding and isolating your pelvic floor muscles. Doctors can use a small probe that measures the contractions of your pelvic floor muscles so that you can see when you perform the exercises correctly. It often takes eight to 12 weeks to see results from Kegel exercises when you perform them every day, according to the Mayo Clinic.
- Talk to your doctor if you have persistent bladder or bowel problems.
