Pelvic Health Check List

Why you should self examine with a vaginal speculum at Stressnomore.co.uk

What are the things that can weaken my pelvic floor?"

Impact Exercise

Every time you jog, run or do other high impact exercise 20 pounds of organs push on your pelvic floor. Many runners, athletes and professional sportswomen have problems with leaking urine.

Being Overweight

Every pound you are carrying over and above what would be your normal body mass places an extra load on the structures of the pelvic floor. Increased body mass = Increased leaking

Urinary tract infections

If resting tone of pelvic floor muscles is weak, the urethra is not kept tight to keep out germs. If pelvic floor is not supporting local tissues then blood supply may be less, increasing chance of infection.

Menopause

"the straw that breaks the camel's back"

Lifetime stress and strain have weakened your pelvic muscle

Special receptors within bladder and urethra that need oestrogen to function properly

Oestrogen drops

Resulting in incontinence

Medications

Antihistamines

Antidepressants

Diuretics

Sedatives/muscle relaxants

Anticholinergics

Calcium channel blockers Other Risk Factors

Constipation

Smoking

Diabetes

Hysterectomy Incontinence is expensive, don't let it happen to you. It's not natural

$16.3 Billion spent on incontinence in the U.S. every year

Cost is greater than all cancer care for women

Panty Pads, Medication, Surgery, Sanitary Towels. The PC Muscle is a "Voluntary Muscle" it Strengthens With Exercise

Great news! The pelvic floor muscles easily strengthen with exercise, so it essential that you exercise them. Do Kegels!

Check with your nurse, doctor or health practitioner for if you are not sure you are doing the exercises correctly.

Alternatively buy a biofeedback device, this has a probe which you insert, you then perform your pelvic floor exercise and the hand-held machine tells you how strong your pelvic muscles are. When you know this you can change the way you exercise to get the best results possible. Remember the problem we all have is that we THINK we are performing the exercises correctly, but in reality we aren't!

Age is no barrier to success in pelvic floor retraining. Old age and incontinence do not have to go hand in hand.

Aids to Kegeling and Pelvic Floor Exercising

Vaginal Weights or "cones" such as Aquaflex Cones.

Biofeedback device, such as the Simplex.

Electrical Stimulation such as the Kegel8 the Athena Pelvic Muscle Trainer or the Femetone - more are listed below.

Don't do things to weaken your pelvic floor muscles

If you run or do high impact exercise be sure to do Kegels

Keep your weight at a normal level

Re-educate your pelvic muscles after childbirth

Choose To Take Care of Pelvic Floor Muscles Yourself

Maintaining a strong pelvic floor is a lifetime commitment, that will reap wonderful rewards

Weak pelvic muscles really can interfere with your quality of life.

You have a choice and the power to strengthen and regain your pelvic control

Don't miss life's opportunities because of pelvic floor weakness, kegel exercises are fast, simple and hugely effective.

Don't delay, start today!