A kegel is known colloquially as a squeeze of our pelvic floor and is typically the “go to” recommendation for a postpartum mother or someone who is experiencing leakage. Although with some, their pelvic floor is lax and therefore kegels may be a more “accurate” treatment, with others, kegels may be doing more harm. So why not kegel?

• Contrary to popular belief, most people have a restricted pelvic floor and think that if they are experiencing symptoms such as incontinence or pressure in their pelvic floor, it means there is laxity present. In most cases, it is actually the opposite and their pelvic floor muscles are more restricted.
• Many people don’t know how to. When someone is told to squeeze their pelvic floor, they may subconsciously recruit other muscles such as their glutes, adductors or core to create that squeeze. These are typically muscles we all tend to over activate while not truly being able to activate our pelvic floor.
• It is not functional. A kegel is a static movement and we don’t live our lives statically. It is important that we are able to contract and lift our pelvic floor while we are going throughout our day so that we are able to absorb and push back against the pressure that is headed towards our pelvic floor. Some examples are sneezing, coughing or lifting up a child.
• We need the length of our pelvic floor before we need strength. Just like with the bicep muscle that needs flexibility to pick up an object before it can use strength to lift, so too with the pelvic floor muscles. When the muscles in your pelvic floor are restricted, they don’t have the length or the strength to do their job of supporting and lifting the organs in the pelvis, such as your bladder, uterus and rectum, so that they can effectively do their jobs.

If you were ever told as a treatment to start doing kegels, call our office to schedule your free consultation so we can discuss and plan more effective ways to heal your pelvic floor today!