Surely many of you have heard about Kegel exercises, but do we know exactly what they are and what they are for? Around them there is a strange mythology that we want to clarify: they are not exclusive to women, nor are they only useful after childbirth. We analyze what they are, what they are for and how Kegel exercises are done in this article.
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What are Kegel exercises and what are they for?
The pubocoxygeal muscle contraction exercises, better known as Kegel exercises are movements aimed at strengthening the pelvic floor muscles (which exist in men and women). They were created in the 1940s by gynecologist Arnold Kegel, from whom they take their name, as a means to prevent and solve urinary incontinence in women after childbirth.
Little by little it was discovered that Kegel exercises could serve for much more than to treat urinary incontinence check kegel exercises at vtight-gel.com: when working the pelvic floor allow us greater control of this musculature that leads to an improvement in the function of support of the viscera and in an improvement of sexual function.
The image that is usually given when explaining where the pelvic floor musculature is and how to activate it is as follows: we imagine that our center or core is a wicker basket (some people use the simile with a box, but the basket fits more by being flexible and malleable). The diaphragm would be the lid of the basket, the front and the sides of the basket would be formed by the back of the abdomen (the innermost muscle that surrounds everything), in the back the lumbar musculature and, finally, the base of the basket would be formed by the musculature of the pelvic floor.
We must bear in mind that all these muscles work in a team and together (for that reason the example of the wicker basket is good: what happens in one of the areas affects the others). The pelvic floor musculature works together primarily with the internal oblique and the transverse abdomen to stabilize our posture.
How are Kegel exercises done?
Kegel exercises do not require visible movement of the body, since what we work on is the internal muscles, so we can do them anywhere. The ideal is to perform them sitting, but if you are a beginner you can start to make them lie down to avoid the force of gravity.
We place our hip in a neutral position (neither in anteversion nor in retroversion) and perform the movement of the pelvic floor musculature in four phases: contraction and elevation of the musculature, maintaining that position, returning to the initial position and, finally, relaxation. I advise you to watch the video that accompanies this paragraph where Dr. Rojas explains it perfectly.
Some tips to keep in mind: we should breathe normally, not hold our breath while we are in the contraction phase, relax our body (and especially the adductors and buttocks, which are the muscles that we tend to contract instead of the pelvic floor ) and maintain an aligned and elongated posture (if you don’t know how to stretch your spine, we’ll explain it here ).
The benefits of Kegel exercises
With the passage of time and with the lack of exercise the pelvic floor muscles lose tone. This is aggravated, in the case of women, after childbirth, when our body has undergone transformations. Kegel exercises are recommended for both sexes and at any age as they help us strengthen and strengthen this muscles.
In both sexes we will obtain greater control of incontinence , both urinary and fecal. These exercises are recommended especially in the postpartum stage of women and after a prostate surgery in the case of men.
On the sexual level , Kegel exercises can be very beneficial in both sexes. In men, Kegel exercises can help fight premature ejaculation; In women the toning of the vaginal muscles improves friction during penetration (this benefits both), which facilitates reaching orgasm, and also increases the sensitivity of the area.