Patient education: Pelvic floor muscle exercises (The Basics)

What is the pelvic floor? — The "pelvic floor" is the name for the muscles that support the organs in the pelvis. These organs include the bladder and rectum. In the female pelvis, they also include the uterus (figure 1).

What are pelvic floor muscle exercises? — These are exercises that can make your pelvic floor muscles stronger. They involve learning ways to tighten and relax specific muscles.

Pelvic floor muscle exercises can help keep you from leaking urine, gas, or bowel movements. They can also help with a condition called "pelvic organ prolapse." This is when the organs in the lower belly drop down and press against or bulge into the vagina.

One way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles is to do exercises. These are also known as "Kegel" exercises.

How do I do pelvic floor muscle exercises? — If you want to try pelvic floor muscle exercises, start by talking to your doctor or nurse. They can talk to you about whether these exercises can help you. They can also teach you how to do them correctly.

You will need to learn which muscles to tighten and relax. It is sometimes hard to figure out the right muscles.

Some ways you can practice:

●People with female or male anatomy – Squeeze the muscles you would use to avoid passing gas.

●People with female anatomy – Put a finger inside your vagina and squeeze the muscles around your finger. Or you can imagine that you are sitting on a marble and have to pick it up using your vagina.

●People with male anatomy – Squeeze the muscles that control the flow of urine. These exercises might help reduce urine leaks in people who have had surgery to treat prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate.

No matter how you learn to do pelvic floor muscle exercises, know that the muscles involved are not in your belly, thighs, or buttocks.

After you learn which muscles to tighten and relax, you can do the exercises in any position (standing, sitting, or lying down).

Should I see a physical therapist? — Your doctor or nurse might suggest working with a physical therapist who has special training in pelvic floor issues. They can check your muscle strength and teach you specific exercises.

How often should I do the exercises? — A common approach is to try to do a set of the exercises 3 times a day.

For each set, do the following about 10 times:

●Squeeze your pelvic muscles.

●Hold the muscles tight for about 10 seconds.

●Relax the muscles completely.

Keep up this routine for at least a few months. You will probably notice results, but it might take a few weeks to several months.

How do pelvic floor muscle exercises help? — Pelvic floor muscle exercises can help:

●Prevent urine leaks in people who have "stress incontinence" – This means that they leak urine when they cough, laugh, sneeze, or strain.

●Control sudden urges to urinate – These happen to people with "urinary urgency" or "urge incontinence."

●Control the release of gas or bowel movements

●Improve symptoms caused by pelvic organ prolapse – These can include pressure or bulging in the vagina. If you have these symptoms, see your doctor or nurse to find out the cause.

It might take a few months of doing the exercises regularly before you notice them working. If you have been doing pelvic floor muscle exercises for several months and they don't seem to be making a difference, tell your doctor or nurse. They might suggest seeing a physical therapist or trying other treatments for your condition.

More on this topic

Patient education: Urinary retention – Discharge instructions (The Basics)
Patient education: Urinary incontinence in females (The Basics)
Patient education: Treatments for urgency incontinence in females (The Basics)
Patient education: Surgery to treat stress urinary incontinence in females (The Basics)
Patient education: Pelvic organ prolapse (The Basics)
Patient education: Bladder spasm (The Basics)
Patient education: Bladder training (The Basics)
Patient education: Urinary retention (The Basics)

Patient education: Urinary incontinence treatments for women (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Urinary incontinence in women (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Pelvic floor muscle exercises (Beyond the Basics)