Kegel Exercises – Recovery After Giving Birth
What are Kegel Exercises?
Kegel exercises are exercises to make the muscles of your pelvic floor stronger. These muscles support the functioning of all the organs down south.
Think of the pelvic floor as a hammock at the southern end of your body, the pelvis. It is made up of muscles and tissues This hammock holds all the organs at the lower end of your body in place. When the strings of the hammock are torn or stretched, things on top would fall right down.
Weakening of the pelvic floor muscles can lead to issues such as the inability to keep your bladder and bowel movements in check. Additionally, the organs can lower into the vagina.
Practicing Kegel exercises for women will help strengthen the muscles around your bladder, vagina and bottom. They are simple clench-and-release exercises that do not require for you to grab any extra equipment.
Why do you need Kegel exercises postpartum?
Your pelvis is the area between your hips that holds your reproductive organs. During pregnancy, this is the area that withstood the most amount of pressure. As a result of this pressure, most women experience a loss of strength in their pelvic floor muscles, more so if you had a vaginal delivery.
The muscles can take up to six months to recover. Performing Kegel pelvic floor exercises can get you there sooner.
Once you know how Kegel exercises are performed, you can do them anywhere, anytime – during movie marathons, waiting in line at the grocery store or even while sitting at your desk in the office. Nobody would suspect a thing, we promise!
How do you perform Kegel exercises?
The first step is to know where your pelvic floor muscles even are! The next time you’re urinating, stop mid-flow. The muscles you contracted to do this are your pelvic floor muscles. If you’re still not sure, take your doctor’s help.
Practice Kegel exercises only when your bladder is empty. Contract your pelvic floor muscles for 3 to 5 seconds. Relax for 3 to 5 seconds. Repeat the contract/relax cycle at least 10 times. This just something to start with, you can level up as you make progress. You can also discuss different variations of Kegel exercise with your doctor during your next visit.
Benefits of Kegel Exercises for Women
Your pelvic floor muscles can weaken even due to your age, weight gain or surgery.
Benefits of Kegel Exercises for Women
- Improved bladder control – If you’re struggling with your bladder movements, you must give Kegel exercises a try before you consider medications or surgery. They can help strengthen the muscles that support your bladder and stop urine leakage so, you can have better control.
- Strengthening pelvic organ support – Many women might face a pelvic organ prolapse after childbirth or pregnancy. This happens because the pelvic floor muscles are torn and stretched and can no longer support the organs on top. The organs might droop into the vagina.
It can cause severe discomfort, sexual difficulties, lower back pain, urinary and bowel issues, etc.
Kegel exercises can make your muscles stronger and keep the prolapse from getting worse. Your muscles might show improvement after weeks, depending on the severity of the prolapse.
Reduced risk of fecal incontinence
A weak pelvic floor can lead to you having no control over your bowel movements. You might not be able to make it to the toilet in time to empty your rectum and leak feces. More than forty percent of people face bowel incontinence or bowel leakage due to a weak pelvic floor.
Tightening and releasing muscles a few times during the day can help strengthen the muscles in your anus, pelvic floor, and rectum.
When to Do Kegels and How Often?
You can perform Kegel exercises every day. There is no harm in making them a part of your daily routine. Aim for at least three sets with 10-15 repetitions every day.
However, a sign that you might be overdoing them or not performing them correctly is if you’re feeling pain in your back or abdomen. While performing Kegel exercise, only your pelvic floor muscles should be engaged. The muscles in your abdomen, back, buttocks, and sides shouldn’t contract and must remain loose.
Overdoing your Kegel exercises can do quite the opposite of what you’re meaning to achieve. Some people actually experience incontinence, or urine and bowel leakage because their muscles have gone too stiff. So, always remain careful.
Recovering after pregnancy is not a quick process. You need to take out time for yourself too along with taking care of your little one. Have your little one wear Teddy, the best diapers for newborn in India while you go shopping, listen to your favorite radio show or while taking a quick power nap.
This is it from us today! We would love to know how these exercises worked out for you. Leave us your doubts, suggestions and experiences below.
