Kegel Exercises to Strengthen the Pelvic Floor

What are the causes of pelvic floor weakness? We will inform you about how to strengthen your pelvic floor through Kegel exercises

A woman should give the utmost care her body, from the more visible aspects such as skin and hair, to aspects which tend to go unnoticed, which often happens with the pelvic floor.

What is the Pelvic Floor?

This is a set of tissues that are located in the lower abdomen, in charge of maintaining all of the pelvic organs, the bladder, the uterus and the rectum, in the correct position for proper functioning.

Causes of Pelvic Floor issues

Factors

Their weakening is more common than is believed, as it can be caused by various factors:

Pregnancy

Despite this, pelvic weakness may also occur by pregnancy and natural delivery.

This is because the muscles are forced to endure not only the weight gain that is naturally generated with the growth of the foetus, but must also cope with the physical and hormonal changes that occur within the body before and during delivery.

These muscles can be stretched and can cause irreparable damage.

Menopause

When a woman’s body reaches a certain age, it is subjected to physical and hormonal changes that directly affect the muscles of the body, including the intra-abdominal muscles.

Menopause can also affect the pelvic floor in a natural way.

Debilitating Pelvic Floor symptoms

This possibility of suffering from disorders can range from urinary incontinence to a prolapse or a collapse of the pelvic organs.

There are problems related to natural birth and hindrance of sexual relations, the latter being one of the first signs.

Can the Pelvic Floor be strengthened?

Exercises to work this type of muscle group, are fundamental, according to Madrilenian physiotherapist Esta Pérez

She told ELMUNDO.es that “the good condition of the pelvic floor influences the quality of life of women in a remarkable way, and this is appreciated by those who, after suffering some discomfort, have managed to reduce or eliminate it thanks to conscious and supervised work”.

Exercises to strengthen the Pelvic Floor

Kegel Exercises

The Kegel Exercises are a series of contractions of the pelvic muscles that are intended to strengthen the tissues in the area.

This acts to control the bladder muscle, the one in charge of controlling the flow of urine. It’s necessary to know if it is being performed in the right way so it is recommended to do it while urinating.

When performing this type of exercise, both the buttocks and thighs and abdomen should be kept relaxed, only tensing the bladder and anus.

Benefits of Strengthening the Pelvic Floor

When labour occurs, having done these exercises, they can make it easier, and they can reduce the chances of suffering tears and haemorrhoids and even allow for a faster recovery period.

Recovery of the Pelvic Floor postpartum

The benefits of carrying them out after the birth:

Sources

1. Centrada en Ti. ¿Por qué es tan importante el suelo pélvico para la mujer?
2. El Mundo (2008) Una de cada tres mujeres tiene alteraciones del suelo pélvico.
3. Inatal. El suelo pélvico y los beneficios de ejercitarlo.
4. Portaladín, B (2012) Fortalecer el suelo pélvico también mejora las relaciones sexuales.

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