The Kegelcisor available at Eden Fantasys
Every few weeks, Dr. Vanessa Cullins, a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood® Federation of America, will be answering your questions here. To ask her your own question, click here.
Dear Dr. Vanessa,
I went to the gynecologist the other day and she said she could tell (during the internal examination) that I hadn’t been doing my kegels (I had a kid a few years back). Is this really true? Also, if I do start doing kegels, is it something I’ll need to do every day for the rest of my life, or is it something that you can do for a while to “get back in shape” and then stop doing?
— Elastica
Dear E,
Yes, your gynecologist would be able to tell if your pelvic floor muscles are weak. There are several ways we can test the strength of a woman’s pelvic floor muscles. Your doctor may have placed fingers in your vagina and then asked you to squeeze down on them. Or she may have asked you to cough or bear down as she examined the outside of your vagina (your vulva), and noticed urine leakage.
The good news is that Kegel exercises are effective. They strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that support the rectum, vagina, and bladder. As your doctor probably told you, you know you are exercising the right muscles if you can stop your urine stream in the middle of urinating. Once you practice enough when urinating, then you should switch to doing Kegels several times during the day when you are not urinating. It is recommended that you contract your pelvic floor muscles for a count of 10, for five to 10 times, several times a day. If you haven’t done them in a while, it may be hard to hold for 10 seconds, but with practice, you’ll be able to work up to holding them for that long. Kegels are important because they can prevent or alleviate stress urinary incontinence — urine leakage from exercising, coughing, sneezing, or bearing down.
When Kegel exercises are done correctly, the pelvic floor muscles can stay strong for a long time. One small study showed that five years after starting Kegels for stress urinary incontinence, 75 percent of women had no urine leakage. Many of these women were either no longer doing Kegels or had dropped down to doing them once a week. So, doing your Kegels can really pay off!
Kegels are also suggested to women and men as a way to improve orgasm — a whole other added benefit!
Best wishes for your good sexual health,
Vanessa
Planned Parenthood
Vanessa Cullins, MD, MPH, MBA, is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood® Federation of America.
Thank you for fixing the link, Em&Lo! 🙂
you can also try a tens machine. I’ve been trialing one and can report that after almost 3 months it has really made a noticeable differece to my pelvic floor.
You can read up about it here http://www.pelvic-toners.co.uk I’m sure you would be able to find a distributor in the US too.
The machine works via electrical impulses much the same as the pads you place on your abdomen to tone up.
All I can say is it works and I never thought I would find myself saying that.
ML, that link doesn’t seem to be working for us. Here’s another place you can find the Smart Balls:
http://www.edenfantasys.com/smartballs-teneo-duo/adult-toys-dvds-26530
There are some items which can help you do your Kegels, and make them more fun. The stainless steel item at the beginning of the post (I think that’s a Tantus, but it could be a Pjur) but there’s a new take on the old Ben Wa balls, which are quite effective and fun to use. This is usually placed about 3/4 of the way into the vagina, and the ball bearings inside the smart balls move when you are moving correctly.
Fun and good exercise! Also, these are all silicone, even the string is silicone to keep it clean and easy to remove.
http://www.tabutoys.com/Catalog/SearchResults.asp?searchfield=all&pagenumber=1&searchphrase=Smart+Balls&Find.x=13&Find.y=11&Find=Find
Kegals can of course, be done without the toys, but it is a reminder to do them (Oh, I paid $22.00 bucks for them, I’d better use them) and the counter pressure works to strengthen the muscles. A lot of women use the Balls when they are at home, and Kegal “bareback” when they are elsewhere.
You can also get stickers to place around your house to remind you to KEGEL! A midwife friend of mine gives them out by the roll. An other friend saw them all around our house, after I had one of the babies, and thought it was a campaign sticker. 😀