Kegel muscle exercises, also known as pelvic floor exercises, can help men and women control urinary incontinence, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Other benefits include an increase in sexual performance and satisfaction, according to the sex information page at the University of California at Santa Barbara. These benefits occur due to increased control over their pubococcygeal, or PC, muscles that help support the genitals and pelvic floor organs. Be sure that you talk to your doctor before getting started on kegel exercises to determine whether they are right for you.
Performing Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises are done by repeatedly contracting and releasing your PC muscles, and can be done anywhere you have a moment, according to Dr. Frederick Jelovsek. Contract your PC muscles and hold this contraction for about six seconds and release. Jelovsek recommends that beginners perform 25 repetitions three times daily, slowly increasing over time until you are performing five contractions per minute for 20 minutes three times daily. A slight variation on this version of the Kegel exercise involves slowly tightening your PC muscles a little at a time over a five-second period, holding this contraction for several seconds and then incrementally releasing the contraction until you are completely relaxed. This version is recommended by researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara. You can also quickly contract and release your PC muscles as fast as possible for as long as possible as yet another variation, they say.
Finding the Right Muscles
Kegel exercises are a great way to improve your sex life and control incontinence, but they aren't going to work unless you find the right muscles. One way both men and women can identify their PC muscles is to stop their urine flow when using the bathroom, according to doctors at MayoClinic.com. Women can also insert a finger into their vagina and grip it with the sphincter muscles of the vaginal wall.
Variations on the Kegel Exercise
There are several variations on the Kegel exercise recommended by the University of California at Santa Barbara. Quick contraction Kegel exercises are performed by rapidly tightening and releasing your PC muscles. You can also contract your PC muscles a little at a time as if you were imagining climbing a five-stair flight of stairs and tightening your muscles a little more with each stair. If this version of the Kegel exercise is prescribed for you, you will want to tighten them a little at a time, hold the contraction for several seconds and then release your muscles incrementally as you imagine descending the flight of stairs, according to the SexInfo page at the University.
