The Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercises

Despite their affect on our lives many people never think about their pelvic floor muscles.. In fact it's something we take for granted on a daily basis. The P.C. muscles can be made stronger by regularly doing kegel exercises. The pelvic floor contains the group of muscles which support the bladder, uterus, and bowel. I never gave this area much thought until after the birth of my first child. Understanding more about the importance of the pelvic floor and ways to strengthen it can help us in several ways.

Throughout life the pelvic floor can be weakened in a variety of ways. Two typical causes are being overweight and pregnancy. Like many women I had both of these causes weakening my pelvic floor by my third pregnancy. As the floor weakens the pelvic organs may descend and sag into your vagina causing a vaginal prolapse. This condition has several varying degrees, the worst needing surgery to correct. Incontinence, pain, and even embarrassment can result from a prolapse. Kegel exercises can help to prevent and even fix some smaller degrees of prolapse. If you suspect you have a prolapse always see your OB/GYN to rule out the need for physical therapy or surgery.

In order to find your pelvic floor muscles try stopping the flow of urine when you are using the bathroom. Squeezing the muscles between your vagina and rectum may also help you find the pelvic floor muscles. You can also insert two clean fingers into your vagina and try squeezing them with your vagina. You'll feel the pelvic floor move upwards as the walls of your vagina tighten.

How to Do Kegel Exercises

- Squeeze the pelvic muscles tight and hold the contraction for 5 seconds. Then release and relax the muscles for about ten seconds, and repeat this ten times. Do this set at least three times a day, preferably more, every day and you should quickly see results. - Increase this to 15 contractions per set and then to 20 and more as you get stronger.

Using Ben Wa balls while doing kegel exercises can be easier, giving you something to focus your squeezing on. Having the ball to focus on provides the body with better feedback. It seems like I work harder with the Ben Wa balls, as opposed to without them. It does take more prep work to do my Kegel exercises since I have to insert the balls, so I often times save this for my nighttime set of exercises.

One great thing about kegel exercises is that they are very discreet. You can do them in the car, in class, or with your morning coffee. To establish the habit of doing kegel exercises the most effective tip I can give is to integrate it into your daily routine. You can do a set in the morning while having coffee, another during your kids nap time, and the last set while in bed at night.

If you make a habit of doing your kegel exercises you'll see results.

To learn more about Ben Wa Balls and find other related articles stop on by