Introduction
Are you suffering from urinary, fecal or stress incontinence? Or maybe Erectile Dysfunction? How familiar are you with the famous Kegel exercises? Are you one of those people who had just recently found out that the Kegel exercises are just as beneficial for men, as they are for women? Do you know which conditions require the Kegel exercises to be performed? The answers to these and many other questions will be answered shortly in the following article. All that you need to do is patiently go through the article and focus on the key facts that we are about to share with you! Let’s start right now!
Intro to Kegel exercises for women
The Kegel exercises are special exercises that are supposed to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Do you know why it is so important for these muscles to be strong? And what are the reasons behind weak pelvic muscles? The pelvic floor muscles are the muscles that support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and the rectum. These muscles can often be weakened after a pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, aging, and obesity as the most common reasons for weakened pelvic floor muscles.
If you are wondering how to perform the Kegel exercises for women, here is a simple explanation! First, you need to locate your pelvic floor muscles and in order to do that; you need to stop the urine stream while urinating. The urine stream is stopped because your pelvic floor muscles are tightened. You need to tighten these muscles and hold this position for at least 10 seconds. After that, it is recommended that you repeat this exercise for at least 4 to 5 times in a row. Remind yourself not to tighten your abdomen or butt muscles while you are doing the exercises. And also, do remember to breathe calmly while performing the exercises. For the best results, remind yourself to repeat the 4 to 5 sets of Kegel exercises three times a day. They can be easily performed anywhere, anytime and in any position. However, we do recommend you to perform them while you are laying down in the beginning.
What are the health benefits of the Kegel exercises for women?
- Kegel exercises are supposed to help you get rid of stress incontinence (leakage of urine drops while sneezing, coughing, or laughing);
- Kegel exercises are supposed to help you get rid of urinary incontinence (feeling of strong, sudden urge to urinate after releasing a large amount of urine);
- Kegel exercises are supposed to help you get rid of fecal incontinence (leakage of stool);
- Kegel exercises can help you prevent the occurrence of urinary and fecal incontinence after pregnancy or childbirth;
- Kegel exercises have been confirmed to have a positive effect, increasing the sexual self-efficiency in women after childbirth.
Intro to Kegel exercises for men
The Kegel exercises might be more popular with women; however, they are just as important and beneficial for men as for women. You may wonder what are the causes for weakened pelvic floor muscles in men. These reasons include surgery for prostate cancer, heavy lifting, constipation, bladder and bowel problems. Because of the weakened pelvic floor muscles, men usually suffer from urinary incontinence. But, the Kegel exercises can successfully help you regain your bladder control.
In order to perform the Kegel exercises, you first need to locate the pelvic floor muscles. You can use the same trick that we mentioned previously when we were explaining how women can locate their pelvic floor muscles, by stopping the urine stream while urinating. But, you can also use another way that involves imagining that you are stopping the release of gas without tightening your abdomen or butt muscles. Once you located these muscles, you will need to perform the same procedure as mentioned previously – tightening the muscles for 10 seconds and then releasing them and repeating the same procedure 4 to 5 times, three times a day.
What are the health benefits of the Kegel exercises for men?
- The Kegel exercises focus on helping men get rid of urinary incontinence;
- The Kegel exercises are also used to resolve the problem with fecal incontinence;
- The Kegel exercises for men have been confirmed to successfully help men solve their problems regarding their Erectile dysfunction when used in a combination with biofeedback.
When should you expect the first results?
The Kegel exercises are not recommended for those of you who expect quick results. We do not by any mean say that the Kegel exercises are inefficient, we are just saying the facts. The Kegel exercises take a few weeks to few months to show the first results in the form of a less frequent urine leakage. You should remember that the Kegel exercises are only efficient as long as you stay motivated and perform them on a daily basis. We remind you that the recommended amount of repeats is at least 3 times a day, performing 4 to 5 sets of Kegel exercises. You can start with the 10 seconds tightening your pelvic floor muscles, and add 1 second every week for more efficient results! Since they can help men as well to increase their chance for an orgasm during the sexual intercourse, therefore, Kegel exercises are one of the best exercises for men.
Conclusion
Kegel exercises are something that all of us should perform on a daily basis if we are interested in strengthening our pelvic floor muscles that make sure to keep our bladder, rectum, uterus and the small intestine safe and intact. If you do not want to risk dealing with urinary, fecal or stress incontinence then you should start doing the Kegel exercises right now! Especially if you have just given birth or underwent a prostate cancer surgery. But, you can also use them to fight that annoying urinary, fecal and stress incontinence or your decreased sexual self-efficiency after childbirth, and even treat your Erectile dysfunction! You do not need a special place or time or even equipment to perform the Kegel exercises that your pelvic floor muscles will thank you for sure! Do not hesitate to make a change and improve your life!
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3289701/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23893232
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4462060/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1324914/
