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Written by Dr. David Ghozland, April 2023 David Ghozland, MD has over 15 years of OBGYN experience and is a pioneer in cosmetic and vaginal reconstructive procedures in Newport Beach CA. Dr. Ghozland serves as President for the LA County Medical Association and Chairman of the Department of OBGYN. Read about Intimate Renewal and other procedures here. |
Kegel exercises are gaining popularity among women all over the world, and with good reason: they help reduce urinary incontinence and also assist with other problems with pelvic floor muscles, such as sexual dissatisfaction and weak muscles.
The nice part about doing Kegel exercises is that you can do them almost anytime, anywhere. Many women wonder how to get started with an at-home kegel exercise routine, and there’s good news: it’s very easy and can make a world of difference in just a short amount of time.
Aside from getting vaginal rejuvenation procedures done at a doctor’s office, kegel exercises can truly help in the efforts of vaginal tightening.
Why Are Kegel Exercises Important?
Kegel exercises are important for a variety of reasons, and they can help to relieve a wide variety of common symptoms that may be caused by several conditions. Since there are a lot of different conditions that can lead to weakened pelvic floor muscles (such as childbirth, being overweight, pregnancy, chronic constipation, and surgery), it’s clear how doing something as simple as kegel exercises every day can be quite helpful to women everywhere.
What are Signs of Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles?
Weak pelvic floor muscles can present themselves in a lot of different ways, although some of them are more common. A few obvious signs of weakened pelvic floor muscles include:
- Leaking urine when sneezing, coughing, or laughing
- Leaking urine when the bladder starts to get full
- Leaking stool
Kegel exercises are ideal to be practiced after childbirth to help aid in the recovery process, as well.
How to Do Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises should be practiced daily. Take into consideration the following steps to practicing kegel exercises, and try to practice them each and every day for the best results.
- Locate your pelvic floor muscles. If you aren’t sure where your pelvic floor muscles are, try stopping urinating in the middle, and you will locate your pelvic floor muscles. Once you are able to do this, you can practice doing this anytime, anywhere, although it may be easier for beginners to start this while lying down.
- Focus on your technique. Pretend that you are sitting down on an object, such as a marble, and attempting to lift it up using your pelvic floor muscles. Start off by doing this in three-second bursts, and in no time, you will be able to perfect your pelvic floor muscle technique.
- Focus, focus, focus. When doing kegel exercises, make sure you are focusing on only working your pelvic floor muscles. You don’t want to be using muscles in your buttocks or your abdomen. Also, do not hold your breath while you are practicing these exercises – it is important to breathe properly.
- Be sure to repeat. Don’t just stop at one set of kegel exercises – you should repeat them at least three times per day at ten to fifteen repetitions per set.
If you would like to learn more about kegel exercises, you’re welcome to reach out to Dr. Ghozland here.