|
The pelvic floor muscles form a broad sling between your legs from the pubic bone in front to the base of your spine at the back.
Picture 1 shows a healthy pelvic floor, where the PC muscles support the bladder, womb and bowel in place.
Picture 2 show weak pelvic floor muscles
The muscles of the pelvic floor form a cradle to hold the bladder, womb and bowel in place and to control the muscles that close the anus, vagina and urethra, shown above in picture 1. When the pelvic floor muscles become weak or damaged, as shown in picture 2, as the result of childbirth for example, they cannot do this effectively.
Pelvic floor weakness is a major cause of stress incontinence and in some can cause prolapse Stress incontinence, or bladder weakness means that you might leak small amounts of urine while coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising. It is estimated that up to 25 per cent of new mothers suffer from stress incontinence.
A staggering 1/3rd of all sanitary towels sold are for stress incontinence. In addition to the distress that stress incontinence can cause, many women and their partners report decreased satisfaction in their lovemaking and intimate pleasures.
How can pelvic floor exercises help me?
Pelvic floor exercises can strengthen these muscles so that they function effectively again. The more you use them, the stronger they will be!
Strong pelvic floor muscles can support the extra weight of pregnancy, help in the second stage of labour and, by increasing circulation, assist in healing the perineum between the anus and vagina after birth. When done regularly, pelvic floor exercises can help to prevent stress incontinence, bladder weakness and prolapse in later life.
Another benefit of pelvic floor exercises is that women with strengthened pelvic floor muscles are more likely to be orgasmic and have a more satisfying sex life!
How do I find my pelvic floor muscles?
Pelvic floor exercises are taught to women as second nature, especially after childbirth. We are told to do them whilst watching TV, doing the washing up, or standing at the bus stop.
In reality it is not so easy. The most difficult aspect that we hear in our customer feedback is the is the ability to isolate the pelvic muscles and exercise them effectively - we have all done the squeezes and wondered, "Am I doing it correctly?" Women are told to squeeze, to stop their wee during midstream, lots of women can do that instinctively (some of us have had lots of practice of stopping ourselves!), unfortunately that doesn't help those of us who suffer spontaneous leakage when we least expect it.
When practicing the "squeezing" techniques women are also to do the following:
Pulling in their tummy
Squeeze their legs together
Tighten their buttocks
Hold their breath
Crikey, remember as a child patting your head and circling your stomach? We have found when a woman uses a product specifically designed to exercise her pelvic floor she is then able to do the exercises more thoroughly and she will achieve greater success.
Pelvic exercisers help to isolate the pelvic floor muscles effectively, by isolating these muscles, we mean the muscles are specifically worked - this gets the best results. By effectively isolating the muscles we all get the best results and our pelvic floor muscles work as nature intended.
Women tell us they find it difficult to use their pelvic floor muscles in isolation at first because they are doubtful that they have effectively located the correct muscles. Pelvic exercises are so much easier with a Pelvic exerciser However any woman can do Pelvic Floor Exercises any time of the day, anywhere.
When can I do my pelvic floor exercises?
You can do these exercises standing up, sitting or lying down, or while carrying out a range of daily activities such as boiling a kettle, talking on the telephone or watching television.
Here's how to do pelvic Floor Exercises:
- Hold in the muscles of your back passage and those around your vagina as if trying not to go to the loo or holding in wind.
- Tighten these muscles to the count of eight and hold, release and repeat once, twice, three times.
- When you hold the tension in your pelvic floor muscles keep on breathing all the time!
- Release and relax, do it again!
- When you return to the normal position, push the muscles out. Then tighten up the pelvic floor again.
- Repeat this several times a day while doing everyday tasks.
- Now try to alternate between slow pull-ups and "short and sharp" fast pull-ups. First: lie, stand or sit with your knees slightly apart. Then follow these instructions:
- Slow pull-ups: Slowly tighten and pull up your pelvic floor muscles as hard as you can. Hold for as long as possible, then relax slowly.
- Fast pull-ups: Pull up the muscles and relax immediately.
- Repeat both of these exercises five times or until you are tired.
As your muscles get stronger, the contraction can be held for longer and more pull-ups achieved. After a few weeks, improvement should be very noticeable but you will need to exercise these muscles regularly for several months before they gain their full strength.
How often do I need to exercise my pelvic floor muscles?
You can easily do your pelvic floor exercises several times a day, whether you use a Pelvic Exerciser or perform the exercises unaided.
Depending on how weak your pelvic floor is to begin with, we recommend you aim for 50 a day and increase this over a few weeks to 120 daily. (If you've had problems with bladder weakness and leakage, do enough repetitions per day to make sure your symptoms don't recur.)
For an occasional check to see how strong your pelvic floor muscles are becoming, try halting the flow of urine in mid-stream (but not first thing in the morning). Once you have regained good control, you can test your muscles:
Make sure your bladder is nearly full.
Do several star jumps in a row.
If no leakage occurs, continue the exercise programme for at least one month. Once your pelvic floor muscles are strong, it is important to maintain them. Continue the exercises two or three times daily for the rest of your life.
I've heard that Pelvic Exercisers are more beneficial, is that true?
Many women find that they either lack the discipline to do their pelvic floor exercises or they are unsure they are doing them properly.
The simple way to test if you are doing your exercises is to place your fingers inside your vagina and tense around them, you'll be able to feel is you are hitting the right spot, and working the muscles effectively.
Alternatively many women buy specific Pelvic exercisers for better more effective results. Four of the best Pelvic exercisers are featured here, as always, fully tried and tested by the StressNoMore team.
|
