Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles exercises

Pelvic Floor Muscle (Kegel) Exercises for Males

Time to Read: About 2 minutes

This information explains how to do pelvic floor muscle (Kegel) exercises.

About Kegel Exercises

The goal of Kegel exercises is to help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support your bladder and bowel.

Kegel exercises can help you:

Manage or prevent incontinence. Incontinence is leakage of urine (pee) and stool (poop) that you cannot control.
Improve your sexual health.

About Your Pelvic Floor Muscles

Your pelvic floor muscles make up the bottom of your pelvis and support your pelvic organs (see Figure 1). They’re the muscles that relax when you’re urinating (peeing), passing gas, or having a bowel movement (pooping). You also use these muscles to hold in your urine and prevent urine leakage.

Figure 1. Your pelvic floor muscles

Identifying your pelvic floor muscles

The first step in doing Kegel exercises is to identify your pelvic floor muscles. Think of these muscles as the same ones you would use to stop your stream of urine when you’re urinating. Do not do this often because starting and stopping your urine stream every time you urinate can be harmful.

How to Do Kegel Exercises

Before you start your Kegel exercises, make sure to urinate so your bladder is empty.

When you’re ready, follow these steps:

Start by holding your pelvic floor muscles in for 5 seconds. To do this, think of pulling in and lifting up your genitals.
- Do not hold your breath while you do this. Counting out loud can stop you from holding your breath.
After holding for 5 seconds, slowly and completely relax your muscles for 5 seconds.
Repeat this process 10 times, at least 3 times every day.

Your pelvic floor muscles may get tired during this exercise. If this happens, stop and do the exercise later.

Do not use your stomach, leg, or buttock muscles when doing this exercise. Exercising these muscles will not help you get back urinary control or improve your sexual health.

As you continue to practice these exercises, increase the time you hold and rest your pelvic floor muscles. Start with 5 seconds, and slowly build up the time each week. Do this until you’re holding in and resting for 10 seconds.

When to Do Kegel Exercises

Most people prefer doing Kegel exercises while lying down on a bed or sitting in a chair. You can do them in any position you feel comfortable in. Doing Kegel exercises while standing can be very helpful because that’s usually when urinary leakage happens.

To keep your urine from leaking, try to do a Kegel exercise before these activities:

When standing up.
Walking.
Walking to the bathroom.
Sneezing or coughing.
Laughing.

Doing these exercises every day will help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and reduce urinary leakage.

‌ Don’t do Kegel exercises while you have a Foley catheter (thin, flexible tube) in place.

Pain and Kegel Exercises

Kegel exercises should not hurt. Most people find them relaxing and easy. But if you use the wrong muscles during Kegel exercises, you may feel uncomfortable.

If you get back or stomach pain after doing Kegel exercises, you may be using your stomach or back muscles instead of your pelvic floor muscles.
If you get a headache after doing Kegel exercises, you may be making your chest muscles tight and holding your breath.

When to Call Your Healthcare Provider

Call your healthcare provider if you:

Have concerns about your bowel, bladder, or sexual function.
Are having trouble feeling your pelvic floor muscles.
Have pain when you do Kegel exercises.
Have trouble doing Kegel exercises.
Have pelvic pain.
Want a referral to a physical therapist who is a specialist in pelvic health.

You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.

Tell us what you think

Your feedback will help us improve the educational information we provide. Your care team cannot see anything you write on this feedback form. Please do not use it to ask about your care. If you have questions about your care, contact your healthcare provider.

While we read all feedback, we cannot answer any questions. Please do not write your name or any personal information on this feedback form.

Survey Questions

Questions	Yes	Somewhat	No
Was this information easy to understand?	Yes	Somewhat	No

What could we have explained better?

Last Updated

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Three exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor

Written By: Simone Sonnier, UT Physicians | Updated: October 20, 2021

Pelvic floor muscles assist with bladder, bowel, and uterus control, as well as play an important role in sexual function. These muscles can weaken due to childbirth, age, obesity, and even chronic coughing. As a result, a person may experience incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, or even painful intercourse.

To help alleviate these side effects, pelvic floor muscle (PFM) therapy may be a good option for some patients.

Apurva B. Pancholy, MD

“Pelvic floor muscle therapy is a noninvasive and relatively low-risk treatment,” explained Apurva B. Pancholy, MD, urogynecologist at UT Physicians and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “This is usually our first option for patients who are struggling with pelvic floor disorders.”

In its simplest form, PFM therapy includes at-home exercises.

Kegels

Kegels are a great way to train your pelvic muscle by contracting and relaxing your pelvic floor. To perform this exercise, you must:

Position yourself comfortably, whether you are sitting or standing. Be sure to maintain the normal inward curve of your lower spine.
Identify and activate your pelvic floor muscles with a lift and squeeze motion, breathing normally throughout.
Attempt to perform the lift and squeeze motion up for up to 10 seconds.
Completely relax your pelvic muscles before another set.

This exercise may be repeated up to 12 repetitions in a row to complete a full set. Three sets throughout the day are the goal.

Bridge

While most may think the bridge is a great exercise for your glutes, it can also help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. For this workout, you will:

Lie on the floor with your back flat against the ground and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Your feet should be flat on the floor with your arms at your side, palms facing down.
Pushing through your heels, raise your hips off the ground by squeezing your glutes, pelvic floor, and hamstrings.
Pause for a few seconds and return to the first position.

The bridge pose can help to strengthen your pelvic floor and glute muscles.

Bird dog

The bird dog move helps to engage many muscle groups throughout your body, including your pelvic floor. To complete this exercise, you can:

Get on your hands and knees, position your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Ensure your back is as straight as possible.
Brace your core muscles and draw your shoulder blades back down toward your hips.
At the same time, straighten and lift your left leg and right arm, keeping the rest of your body in a neutral position. Hold for a few seconds.
Lower your arm and leg back down to their original position. Repeat the move with the opposite extremities.

The bird dog exercise is a great at-home option to help build up your pelvic floor muscles.Solafa Elshatanoufy, MD, PharmD

Solafa Elshatanoufy, MD, PharmD, urogynecologist at UT Physicians, stresses while PFM therapy is a wonderful tool for patients, it’s not for everyone.

“Unfortunately, there are no universal pelvic floor exercises that will work for every individual,” explained Elshatanoufy, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School. “It’s important to be evaluated by a specialist to ensure the prescribed treatment plan is appropriate and tailored to a person’s needs.”

Elshatanoufy and Pancholy both see patients at the UT Physicians Urogynecology Center – Memorial City clinic. Visit their page here or call 713-486-6160 to schedule an appointment.

Exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles in women (Kegel exercises)

This information describes exercises for the pelvic floor muscles (Kegel exercises).

About Kegel Exercises

The main purpose of Kegel exercises is to help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. She will help you:

Manage or prevent urinary incontinence. Incontinence is the leakage of urine or stool (feces) that you cannot control.
Support the pelvic organs (uterus, bladder and intestines). This will help reduce incontinence and soreness.
Relax the vaginal muscles. This will provide better vaginal elasticity, which is important if you experience pain or discomfort during intercourse or during a pelvic exam.
Relieve pelvic pain.

About the pelvic floor muscles

The pelvic floor muscles form the pelvic cavity and support the pelvic organs. These are the muscles you use to stop urinating and keep you from passing gas or having a bowel movement (when you go to the bathroom in a big way). In addition, these muscles can contract (tighten) during orgasm. Figure 1 shows the pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organs.

Figure 1 Pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organs

How to identify the pelvic floor muscles

If you are not sure which muscles are pelvic floor muscles, there are several ways to identify them.

Imagine that you are urinating. Tighten the muscles that you use to interrupt the flow of urine while urinating. Do not exercise your pelvic muscles by stopping the flow of urine while urinating in real life, especially when the bladder is full. This can weaken your pelvic muscles and cause your bladder to not empty completely when you urinate, which increases your risk of a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Tighten the muscles you use to hold back a bowel movement or the passage of intestinal gases, but do not contract the muscles in your buttocks, abdominals (abdomen) or inner thighs. If you do it right, your body should not rise at all. If you feel that your body is slightly lifted, you are most likely using the muscles of the buttocks.
Insert a finger into the vagina and then squeeze the pelvic floor muscles around the finger. You should feel the muscles in your vagina tense up and your pelvic floor move up.

Pelvic floor contraction does not involve the abdominal, leg, or buttock muscles. Contraction of these muscles does not strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. To find out if the muscles in your abdomen, legs, or buttocks are also contracting, you can put one hand on your stomach and the other under your buttocks or thighs. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles. If you feel the movement of the abdominals, hips or buttocks, then you are using the wrong muscles.

Be sure to completely relax your pelvic floor muscles after contracting them. If you have difficulty identifying your pelvic floor muscles, contact your doctor.

Performing Kegel Exercises

Once you have learned how to properly contract your pelvic floor muscles, do 2-3 sessions of Kegel exercises daily for best results. These sessions are best done at regular intervals throughout the day.

Instructions

Before you begin, take a comfortable position so that your body is relaxed. Most people prefer to do Kegel exercises while lying in bed or sitting in a chair. Once you are familiar with the exercises, you can do them in any position and anywhere, such as standing somewhere and waiting in line.

From a comfortable position, follow the instructions below:

Inhale deeply through your nose to contract your abdominal muscles and fill your lungs with air. During inhalation, the pelvic floor muscles should be relaxed.
Inhale slowly and deeply through your mouth while gently contracting your pelvic floor muscles.
Hold the pelvic floor muscles in a contracted state for 3-6 seconds (until they begin to tire) while you exhale. This is called a cut.
Inhale again and stop contracting the muscles. This will allow the muscles to relax.
Relax your pelvic floor muscles completely for 6-10 seconds. It is very important to completely relax the muscles between each contraction and not hold your breath. Always keep the muscles relaxed for the same amount of time as they were contracted, or a little longer.

Do this exercise for 10 repetitions per session.

If you experience pain while doing Kegel exercises, stop doing them immediately. Kegel exercises are not harmful, but not suitable for everyone. When performed correctly, many find them relaxing. They should not cause pain. If you experience pain during or after Kegel exercises, you may not be doing them correctly, or Kegel exercises may not be right for you. Call your health care provider to discuss this.

When to increase the duration of contractions

If the pelvic floor muscles do not begin to tire after contracting for 3-6 seconds or after doing 10 consecutive Kegel exercises, you can increase the duration of the contraction to 6-10 seconds, then completely relax the muscles for 10 seconds. Be sure to keep breathing as the muscles contract.

Try to achieve the goal of holding a strong contraction for 10 seconds 10 times in a row.

If you have difficulty doing Kegel exercises, a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor muscles can help. Ask your healthcare provider to refer you to such a specialist.

What to do if you have pain or continue to incontinence

If you continue to have problems with pelvic pain or incontinence, contact your health care provider to be referred to one of MSK's specialist physical therapists. pelvic health. This specialist will be able to understand the causes of pain or problems in the pelvic floor. You can also ask for a referral to a physical therapist if you have difficulty doing Kegel exercises.

MSK physical therapists provide services at the following address:

Sillerman Center for Rehabilitation
515 Madison Avenue, 4th ^{floor
(entrance from 53 ^rd Street between Park Avenue and Madison Avenue)
New York , NY 10022}

The Sillerman Rehabilitation Center can be called at 646-888-1900.

Sexual health and intimacy support and information

If you need more support or information about sexual health and intimate life, talk to your health care provider about the Female Sexual Medicine & Women’s Health Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK). For more information or to make an appointment, call 646-888-5076.

Services available through the Female Sexual Medicine & Women’s Health Program at the following locations:

Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53 ^rd Street
New York, NY 10022

Breast Center. Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center
300 East 66 ^th Street,
New York, NY 10065

Tell your healthcare provider if you have:

difficulty identifying your pelvic floor muscles;
pain during Kegel exercises;
difficulty doing Kegel exercises;
concerns about bowel, bladder, or sexual function;
pelvic pain;
questions requiring a referral to a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic health.

Pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises) for men

Time to read: Approximately 2 min.

This information will help you learn how to do pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises).

About Kegel Exercises

The main purpose of Kegel exercises is to help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support your bladder and intestines.

Kegel exercises will help you:

Control or prevent urinary incontinence. Incontinence is the leakage of urine and stool (feces) that you cannot control.
strengthen your sexual health.

About the pelvic floor muscles

The pelvic floor muscles line the pelvic cavity and support the pelvic organs (see Figure 1). These are the muscles that relax during urination (when you go to the toilet in a small way) and during passing gases or bowel movements (when you go to the toilet in a big way). You also use these muscles to hold urine and prevent leakage.

Figure 1 Pelvic floor muscles

Pelvic Floor Muscle Testing

Pelvic floor muscle testing must be performed prior to performing Kegel exercises. Think about what muscles you use to interrupt the stream of urine when urinating, concentrate on them. Don't do this often, as stopping the flow of urine every time you urinate can be harmful.

How to do Kegel exercises

Make sure you urinate to keep your bladder empty before doing Kegel exercises.

When you're ready, start doing the following:

To begin, pull in your pelvic floor muscles and hold for 5 seconds. To do this, imagine that you are pulling in and lifting the genitals.
- Do not hold your breath. Counting out loud will keep you from holding your breath.
After 5 seconds, slowly and completely relax the muscles, holding them in this state for 5 seconds.
Repeat the exercise 10 times and do it at least 3 times daily.

Your pelvic floor muscles may become tired during this exercise. In this case, stop doing the exercise and start it later.

This exercise does not involve the abdominal muscles, legs, or buttocks. Exercising these muscles will not help you regain urinary control or improve your sexual health.

As you continue with these exercises, gradually increase the amount of time the pelvic floor muscles are contracted and relaxed. Start with 5 seconds and gradually build up the time each week until you reach 10 seconds.

When to do Kegel exercises

Most people prefer to do Kegel exercises while lying in bed or sitting in a chair. They can be done in any position convenient for you. Doing Kegel exercises while standing can be very helpful, as urine leakage usually occurs in this position.

To prevent leakage of urine, try a Kegel exercise before you:

stand up;
walk;
go to the toilet;
to sneeze or cough;
laugh.

Doing these exercises will help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and reduce urine leakage.

‌ Do not do Kegel exercises if you have a Foley catheter (thin, flexible tube) in place.

Pain and Kegel exercises

Kegel exercises should not cause pain. Many find them simple and relaxing. But if you use the wrong muscles when doing them, you may experience discomfort.

If you experience pain in your back or abdomen after doing Kegel exercises, you may be using your abdominal or back muscles instead of your pelvic floor muscles.
If you have a headache after doing Kegel exercises, you may be tightening your chest muscles and holding your breath.