The Importance of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises

Introduction

Pelvic floor muscle exercises, also known as Kegel exercises, strengthen pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscles are a series of muscles that support the bladder and bowel and impact both men’s and women’s sexual function.

Kegel exercises help reduce urine leakage and unintentional stool or gas passage and may even improve orgasms. Maintaining the strength of these muscles can help avoid pelvic organ prolapse, a condition in which the pelvic organs slide lower than they should.

In this article, let us look at the causes of pelvic organ prolapse, tips for kegel exercises, and the benefits of having pelvic floor exercises for both men and women.

What Is and What Causes Pelvic Organ Prolapse?

Pelvic organ prolapse is when one or more of the organs in the pelvis slip down from their normal position and bulge into the vagina.

The painful condition is typically brought on by any health issue that causes your pelvic floor muscles to weaken under stress. These consist of:

• Most of the body’s muscles decrease with age as part of the normal aging process, including the pelvic floor muscles and the rectum and anus muscles.
• The pelvic floor muscles may weaken if you cough, sneeze, or laugh a lot.
• Some people are more likely to develop weak tissues that support the pelvic muscles naturally.
• Pregnancy, vaginal delivery, or pelvic surgery during cesarean section are the leading causes in women.
• Being overweight or gaining weight can lead to the weakening of the pelvic floor muscles.

Tips for Performing Kegel Exercises

The following are some tips for performing the Kegel exercise:

• Do your Kegel exercise while sitting, standing, or lying down. You can perform the exercise for a short period both before bed and in the morning.
• Start by performing as many Kegel exercises as are reasonably simple for you to achieve, such as ten Kegels for three seconds each, twice a day. Increase these numbers gradually as your endurance and strength improve.
• As you perform the exercises, don’t hold your breath. Holding your breath indicates improper execution of the practice.

Benefits of Kegel Exercise for Women

Women can enjoy the following benefits from kegel exercises:

Kegels are helpful for general fitness.

Lifestyle habits like prolonged sitting, repetitive motions, injuries, and pregnancy can damage your body and make it generally weaker.

Your pelvic floor muscles may weaken due to pregnancy and prolonged sitting, leading to pelvic organ prolapse. Your risk of pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, and painful sex can all be decreased by maintaining pelvic floor muscles exercise.

Kegels can improve sex for you and your partner.

Since the pelvic floor muscles are responsible for orgasm, Kegels tighten the vagina and increase the orgasm’s intensity. Orgasms are more potent and last longer when the muscles in the pelvis are strong.

Blood flow to the pelvic area is boosted due to pelvic floor muscle exercise. The ability to orgasm and sexual excitement are all enhanced by improved blood circulation.

Kegels can help in healing from childbirth.

During pregnancy and childbirth, whether vaginally or via cesarean, the pelvic muscles weaken. However, by performing these exercises, you’ll recover more quickly and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

Benefits of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise for Men

Men can enjoy the following benefits from kegel exercises:

Treatment for an enlarged bladder.

Pelvic floor muscle therapy is the first-line treatment for overactive bladder because contraction of pelvic muscles can reduce bladder contraction.

Erectile dysfunction treatment.

You can improve erectile function with pelvic floor muscle exercise since they play a vital role during an erection.

Remedy for premature ejaculation.

Kegel exercises improve climax feeling and ejaculation control, increasing men’s sexual enjoyment.

Managing prostate pain.

Kegel exercise aids in controlling prostate pain and inflammation that occurs with prostatitis.

Conclusion

Patience is the key to improved results because it takes time to see them. Additionally, doing it more frequently could cause muscular exhaustion, making it more difficult for the muscle to respond as intended. You can adhere to the healthcare provider’s advice regarding the frequency and method of Kegels.

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.