Kegel exercises are a great tool to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Women often use them after childbirth or for issues with urinary incontinence. The problem is there’s a right way to do them and a wrong way to do them.
The information about kegels out there is plentiful, the problem is that a lot of it is also wrong. Even doctors can tell you how to do them wrong, or just short and vague enough to not be helpful. Online information is contradictory. That means it’s easy to make mistakes. Here are some of the most common ones.
Using the wrong muscles
Most women mistake the muscles in the abdomen, legs or buttocks instead of the pelvic muscles. They’re all in the same area, but if you aren’t moving the pelvic muscles, you aren’t strengthen them. Even if you can find the right muscles, moving them the wrong way can mean the same thing as not using the right ones, or even worse, making the problems you’re trying to help get worse by damaging the pelvic floor muscles.
Doing them too much is also a problem
Doing hundreds of them a day is a bit of overkill. Not only is it impossible to do and keep your daily routine, but it can backfire by giving you problems from overworking the muscles. But underworking them is also a problem. If you do them too fast and too light, instead of doing it strong and holding the squeeze.
A physical therapist can help you learn to do them right and much more effectively. If your doctor tells you to do them, ask him or her if you can have a few physical therapy sessions to help you do them right.
If you need help learning to do Kegels right, please give Specialized Physical Therapy a call TODAY! 720-493-1181
