Kegel Exercises: Am I Doing Them Correctly?

Who Should Do Kegel Exercises?

Kegel exercises are the exercises most often suggested for people with symptoms of urinary leakage. When done properly, they're a very effective tool to minimize and eliminate bladder leakage and to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

People with complaints of urinary urgency often say things like, "As soon as I feel the urge to urinate, I have to run to the bathroom or I may have an accident. I just don't seem to be able to hold it." This is generally a sign of a weak pelvic floor, though other factors can be involved too (something I'll cover in future posts). For simplicity, let's consider plain pelvic floor muscle weakness here. Kegels are effective when the muscles have moderate weakness. When a person has very weak pelvic floor muscles and can't elicit even a minimal contraction when attempting Kegels, they'll need the supervision of a pelvic therapist, who can use other methods to help improve muscle strength during a PT session.

How Should Kegels Be Done?

1. First, try practicing these exercises lying on your back with your knees bent.
2. Squeeze the muscles of the genital area as if you're trying to stop the flow of urine or stop yourself from passing gas. Be careful not to squeeze the muscles of your belly or inner thighs.
3. Contract for 3 seconds and relax for 3 seconds. Do 3 sets of 5.
4. As your pelvic floor gets stronger, you can progress to doing this while sitting or standing, and these can be done anywhere: at your desk, doing the dishes, and so on.
5. Caution: if you feel pain in the abdomen, back, or anywhere else after doing Kegels, it's a sign they're not being done correctly. Stop and seek medical advice.
6. To check that you're doing the exercise correctly, place one hand on your lower abdomen and one hand on your inner thigh to feel whether those muscles are contracting when you contract your pelvic floor. Avoid the contraction if you feel your abdominal or inner thigh muscles engage.

How Long Before You Can Expect to See Results?

As with any exercise routine, results require consistent practice, and the timeline can vary from person to person depending on several factors. On average, you should start to notice better bladder control in about 2 to 3 weeks. If Kegels seem ineffective after that time, you may need further assistance to assess your technique or address difficulty isolating the pelvic floor muscle contraction.

Conclusion

Now you know what Kegel exercises are, how to check that you're doing them correctly, and the role they play in improving incontinence.