Pelvic Fitness in Minutes a Day
Exercising
your pelvic floor muscles for just 5 minutes, three times
a day can make a big difference
in bladder control. Exercise strengthens muscles that hold
the bladder and many other organs in place. At the bottom
of the pelvis, several layers of muscle stretch between
your legs. The muscles attach to the front, back, and sides
of the pelvis bone. Two pelvic muscles do most of the work.
The biggest one stretches like a hammock. The other is shaped
like a triangle. These muscles prevent leaking of urine
and stool.
How to exercise your pelvic floor muscles?
Finding
the right muscle. This is very important. Your doctor,
nurse, or physical therapist will help make sure you are
doing the exercises right. You
should tighten the two major muscles that stretch across
your pelvic floor. They are the "hammock" muscle and the
"triangle" muscle. Here are three methods to check for
the correct muscles.
1)
Try to stop the flow of urine when you are sitting on
the toilet. If you can do it, you are using the right
muscles.
2) Imagine that you are trying to stop passing gas. Squeeze
the muscles you would use. If you sense a "pulling" feeling,
those are the right muscles for pelvic exercises.
3) Lie down and put your finger inside your vagina. Squeeze
as if you were trying to stop urine from coming. If you
feel tightness on your finger, you are squeezing the right
muscle.
Don't
squeeze other muscles at the same time. Be careful
not to tighten your stomach, legs,
 or
other muscles. Squeezing the wrong
muscles can put more pressure on your bladder. Just squeeze
the pelvic muscle. Don't hold your breath.
Repeat, but don't overdo it. At first, find a quiet
spot to practice (bathroom or bedroom) so you can concentrate.
Lie on the floor. Pull in the pelvic muscles and hold
for a count of 3. Then relax for a count of 3. Work up
to 10 to 15 repeats each time you exercise.
Do your pelvic exercises at least three times a day.
Every day, use three positions: lying down, sitting, and
standing. You can exercise while lying on the floor, sitting
at a desk, or standing in the kitchen. Using all three
positions makes the muscles stronger.
Be patient. Don't give up. It's just 5 minutes,
three times a day. You may not feel your bladder control
improve after 3 to 6 weeks. Still, most women do notice
an improvement after a few weeks.
Exercise aids. You can also exercise by using special
weights or biofeedback. Ask your health care team about
these exercise aids.
You can protect your pelvic muscles from more damage by
bracing yourself.
Think ahead, just before sneezing, lifting, or jumping.
Sudden pressure from such actions can hurt those pelvic
muscles. Squeeze your pelvic muscles tightly and hold
on until after you sneeze, lift, or jump. After
you train yourself to tighten the pelvic muscles for these
moments, you will have fewer accidents.
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