Kegel Exercises

Exercises to strengthen the PFM were popularized

by Dr Arnold Kegel, and are often called

Kegel exercises. These exercises can help to control

urinary incontinence and urgency.

Begin these exercises by emptying your bladder.

Lie down with your head slightly elevated

(at a 20° angle) and your knees bent comfortably.

Try to relax completely. To aid in achieving

a relaxed state, try repeating this relaxation

technique: First, tense your fist into a tight ball

and count to five. Then, completely relax your

fist. Can you feel the difference between the two

states? It is important that you are able to do so.

Now, contract your abdominal muscles tightly for

a few seconds; then relax them completely. This is

the way your stomach muscles should feel when

you do Kegel exercises: relaxed.

Try to think about the area around your vagina.

You want to draw the muscles together quickly

and deliberately as though you were trying to

stop urination or a bowel movement. Once you

have pulled the muscles together, hold the contraction

for 10 seconds; then relax completely.

Let approximately 10 seconds elapse before

beginning another Kegel contraction.

When you contract or tighten your pelvic muscles,

you may note that these muscles tire easily,

or that you are not able to hold the contraction

for the entire 10 seconds. As you continue to

exercise, this will happen less frequently. If you

think that you are no longer tightening or contracting

your muscles, it is very important that

you do not tighten them to see if you are contracting.

The goal is to maintain constant effort in

an active squeeze to build muscle control. In fact,

it is more important to maintain a strong, active

squeeze for a shorter period of time than to keep

“flicking” the muscle for 10 seconds.

You may need to work up gradually to a full

10-second squeeze.

In the following example of Kegel exercise, to the

count of 10 seconds:

deliberately, quickly, and hard

Start the program by exercising

three times per day, starting

with 10 contractions each time

(30 contractions per day). Each

week, add five contractions to

your regimen until you reach 20

contractions, three times a day,

(60 per day). Try to do the exercises at a set time

each day, preferably when you are not too tired.

When you get comfortable doing the exercises

laying down, you may do them sitting.