General Information
What are pelvic floor exercises?
Pelvic floor exercises or “Kegels” (as they are called in America) are exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles – these muscles may become chronically weak after childbirth in women, or often times without an identifiable cause, and after prostate removal in men. Like all other muscles they may also weaken due to an inactive lifestyle. These muscles are literally around the pelvic floor (between your hips) and if they were not present, there would be no support for the bladder and other organs above the pelvis. A weak muscle leads to urinary incontinence (frequent urination and “accidents”) as well as a lack of sexual stimulation for women ans men (because a wider vulva makes it more difficult for the clitoris to receive stimulation and it also causes lower penile stimulation)
The original pelvic floor exercises were developed by Dr. Kegel in 1948. They were performed by contracting the muscles around the pelvis by imagining that one interrupts the urine flow. The exercises have been found to be relatively ineffective, when they are done without resistance and without biofeedback. Exercising with adjustable resistance is like exercising with different weights in a fitness studio, which is very important for effective pelvic strengthening – muscles tend to improve when the resistance can be adjusted to your individual strength – exercising without any resistance at all is like simply flexing the muscles, which is relatively ineffective in building up muscle mass and endurance for all muscles in the body. Biofeedback is important because most people have trouble isolating the right muscles at first, and knowing you are doing your exercises correctly in some measurable way is encouraging for most people to continue exercising – typically people contract abs and thighs while trying to isolate the pelvic floor muscles. This is why there are quite a few products in the market today that provide biofeedback and resistance. We have looked at all these relatively new products and evaluated them to help you make the choice that is best for your specific needs!