TAKE HOME MESSAGE: KEGEL EXERCISES GET GIVEN FOR WEAK PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES. GET YOUR PELVIC FLOOR ASSESSED PROPERLY AND DON’T ASSUME THEY’RE WEAK.
What are Kegels?
‘Kegels’, named after Dr Arnold Kegel, is another name for pelvic floor exercises, targeted at strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.
Kegels became the blanket approach for everyone! Urinary incontinence? Kegel. Pregnant? Kegel. Painful sex? Kegel. Key in the door syndrome? Kegel. Although they are appropriate for some people, Kegels are not the answer to everything.
Benefits:
- Kegels can improve urinary function, like stress or mixed urinary incontinence
- Kegels can improve your sexual health and help you orgasm
- Kegels can help with pelvic organ prolapse
- Kegels can help during pregnancy to strengthen the muscles than support the weight of the foetus
- Kegels can help you recover after childbirth
Should I Kegel?
You should do Kegels if your pelvic floor muscles are weak, like after childbirth or throughout the menopause. But in some cases, the pelvic floor muscles don’t work as they should do due to lack of coordination or tightness.
If your muscles are uncoordinated, they won’t contract at the right time. A good example of this is ‘key in the door syndrome’ (yes, it is actually a syndrome!). Your pelvic floor muscles may not contract to hold in urine when you want them to – putting the key in the door – and can cause you to leak urine before getting to the toilet.
If your muscles are tight, they are already contracted or short, so doing Kegels will mean adding more contractions on top of already contracted muscles. For example, it would be like doing a bicep curl when your elbow is already curled.
Determining whether you should do Kegels or not, is all based on your symptoms and pelvic floor function. Learning how to do them correctly is another key factor, to ensure you are maximising the benefits.
At Head2Toe Physio, we can expertly assess your pelvic floor function to determine whether you are the right candidate to do Kegels. So why not come in and let us tell you, should you Kegel?
If you or anyone you know, would like to have a Women’s Health Physiotherapy assessment with Evie or Anna at Dorking or Leatherhead, book online here or contact us here.
Blog post guest written by Evie Spreadbury, Women’s Health Specialist Physiotherapist, member of Pelvic, Obstetric & Gynacological Physiotherapists (POGP), Dorking, & Leatherhead Clinics.
References
- Dumoulin, C., & Hay-Smith, J. (2010). Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
- Dumoulin, C., et al. (2018). Pelvic floor muscle training for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
- [NICE Urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in women: management, 2019]
- Pelvic floor exercises (no date) Physiopedia. Available at: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Pelvic_Floor_Exercises (Accessed: 18 October 2024).
- professional, C.C. medical (2024) Kegel exercises: How to do them & benefits, Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14611-kegel-exercises (Accessed: 16 October 2024).
- Hawker, K., et al. (2018). Effects of pelvic floor muscle training on sexual function in women. International Urogynecology Journal.
- Woodley, S. J., et al. (2015). Pelvic floor muscle training for the prevention and treatment of pelvic organ prolapse. BMC Women’s Health.