The short answer, No. Kegels are a strengthening exercise for your pelvic floor and some people don’t need to contract more. If you have pelvic or vaginal pain, leaking, constipation or difficulty relaxing, I would hold off on doing kegels until you are assessed by a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist. If you are struggling more with weakness, and have symptoms such as urgency, leaking and prolapse, then they might be right for you. But I would still get assessed by a Pelvic Floor PT before any pelvic floor exercise plan were to start. So lets look at the pelvic floor and how kegels can help.

What is a Kegel?

Kegel exercises were invented in the 1940s by Dr Arnold Kegel, an American gynecologist, who wanted an alternative to surgery for women who were leaking. Here is a more detailed page devoted to kegels; https://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/step-by-step-guide-to-performing-kegel-exercises. Kegels are a form of strengthening the pelvic floor. When the pelvic floor is weak, urine can leak out and at times, kegels can be very beneficial. These muscles contract and relax under your command and help control the opening and closing of your bladder

How to perform a Kegel

• ­For women, close the rectal, vaginal and urethral sphincter and think “squeeze and lift”
• For men, close the rectal and urethral sphincter

How many and how often?

• Start with contracting these muscles with your exhale, repeat x 10.
• Think about relaxing the pelvic floor as you inhale
• Work up to a few sets a day
• Start with laying down, then try with sitting and standing
• Once you can do in standing, then try to do with activity

When should you Do Kegels?

• If you are feeling a falling out sensation or a prolapse
  • Most likely you are dealing with a weakness issue and kegels are right for you! We need to strengthen your pelvic floor in order to support your organs and sphincters.
• If you are having increased urgency
  • If you have an urge more than every 3 hours and are drinking half your weight in ounces, kegels might be right for you! The detrusor muscle, the muscle that surrounds your bladder might be contracting too much and needs the pelvic floor to help it to turn off. When you feel the urge, do 10 kegels and see if it goes away!
• If you are postpartum and just feeling generally weak
  • Start slow and gentle and start strengthening and balancing your pelvic floor again.

When You should Avoid Doing Kegels

• When urinating
  • You should not do this exercise while you are urinating as this will confuse your bladder and may cause a urinary tract infection
• If you are constipated
  • You may have too tight of pelvic floor muscles and don’t want to contract further until you know how to relax them
• Stress Incontinence
  • If you are leaking with coughing/sneezing/laughing/jumping/running, you may be leaking due to too weak or too tight of muscles. Get an assessment first, to make sure you are not contracting with already overly tight muscles, as this may make your leaking worse
• Pain with sex
  • If you have pain with insertion or penetration, avoid doing kegels until you know how to relax and lengthen your muscles fully. Don’t want to continue to contract overly tight muscles.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

If you are unsure whether you should being doing kegels or not, see a Pelvic Floor PT to find out! They will talk to you about your symptoms, assess your pelvic floor and core and be able to tell you if kegels are right for you. Visit my website at www.thepelvicfloorplace.com to schedule your free 15 minute phone consultation!