You can suffer from two conditions that fall under the umbrella of "pelvic floor disorders." The first is referred to as a pelvic floor prolapse, where the pelvic organs, such as your bladder and uterus, fall downward and bulge through the vagina. The second is when you have trouble controlling your urine or bowels. This is known as incontinence. The University of Michigan Health System says one in nine women will have surgery for pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime. In the case of incontinence, you can perform exercises that can help.
Recommendations
Exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor are recommended for women with urinary stress incontinence, people who suffer from fecal incontinence or men suffering from urinary incontinence after prostate surgery, says MedLine Plus.
Function
Pelvic floor disorder exercises help to strengthen the muscles underneath the uterus, bladder and bowel. Regular practice will tone and firm weak muscles to help prevent urine leakage and improve control of the bowels.
Exercises
The exercises that help with pelvic floor disorder are called Kegel exercises. When you perform Kegel exercises, you work the muscles that are used to stop your urine once it has begun to flow. With an empty bladder, tighten your pelvic floor muscles by stopping the imaginary urine flow and hold for 10 seconds. Relax completely for 10 seconds, then repeat the sequence two more times. Perform 10 repetitions of the exercises in the morning, afternoon and evening. Most women will notice results in 4 to 6 weeks.
Tips
You can perform pelvic floor exercises lying down, sitting or standing. If you aren't exactly sure how to exercise the muscles, just stop your urine flow midstream a few times until you figure it out. You can also insert a finger into your vagina or rectum to feel the muscles in action. Keep your buttocks, thighs and abdominals relaxed while you are performing the exercises.
Considerations
Check with your doctor before you begin exercising your pelvic floor muscles to be sure it is safe. Also, avoid trying to speed up your results or you could fatigue the muscles and actually increase your urine leakage.
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