Kegel Exercises for Incontinence

How do you do Kegel exercises?
The first step is to know you are using the right muscles. Imagine that you are sitting on a marble and want to pick up the marble with your vagina. Imagine "sucking" the marble into your vagina.

Try not to squeeze other muscles at the same time. Be careful not to tighten your stomach, legs, or buttocks. Squeezing the wrong muscles can put more pressure on your bladder control muscles. Just squeeze the pelvic muscles. Don't hold your breath. Do not practice while urinating.

Repeat, but don't overdo it. At first, find a quiet spot to practice--your bathroom or bedroom--so you can concentrate. Pull in the pelvic muscles and hold for a count of 3. Then relax for a count of 3. Work up to 3 sets of 10 repeats. Start doing your pelvic muscle exercises lying down. This is the easiest position to do them because the muscles do not need to work against gravity. When your muscles get stronger, do your exercises sitting or standing. Working against gravity is like adding more weight.

Be patient. Don't give up. It takes just 5 minutes a day. You may not feel your bladder control improve for 3 to 6 weeks. Still, most people do notice an improvement after a few weeks.

There can problems with un-assisted Kegel exercises; are you doing them correctly, are you making progress, are you strengthening the right muscles, etc. If you have been taught by a doctor or physical therapist you have a good start. Since Dr. Kegel, other researchers have developed a wide range of equipment to assist women in performing the important pelvic floor exercises correctly. Take a look at our selection of incontinence relief trainers.