How Often Should You Do Pelvic Floor Exercises

Now you know how to do your pelvic floor exercises and you are prepared with the right tools, you will be wondering how often to do them to suit the condition of your pelvic floor. There is a wealth of clinical studies and online guidance about how often you should do pelvic floor exercises, with the original Kegel exercise routine, from Dr Arnold Kegel, recommending 500 contractions a day! Below we have brought together this guidance, to help you tweak your exercise plan to better suit the condition of your pelvic floor.

Pelvic floor exercises are right for everyone regardless of age, gender and health, and should be part of any healthy lifestyle. As with any exercise, you will need to find a balanced routine that works for you. One that keeps you motivated with the progress you see, but also gives your muscles time to relax and strengthen. If you overdo your pelvic floor exercises then your muscles can become too tense and cause you extreme pelvic pain. If you don't do them often enough, you will see your progress drop and your pelvic floor weaken.

Its hard to tell if your pelvic floor muscles are strong or weak as there are often no visual clues. However you can generally consider yourself having a strong pelvic floor if your partner notices it during penetrative sex, and a weak pelvic floor if you suffer from a pelvic floor disorder such as urinary incontinence. This is not an exact science however, so consider using a biofeedback tool to measure your strength if you are unsure.

I Have a Weak Pelvic Floor

Many pelvic floor conditions, including pelvic organ prolapse and bladder leaks, can happen when the pelvic floor muscles become weakened or overstretched. The pelvic floor muscles support the bladder, bowel and reproductive organs, so when they lose strength, symptoms such as prolapse, incontinence or pelvic heaviness can develop.

For effective pelvic floor strengthening, the Kegel8 Ultra 20 can be used once a day as part of a regular 12-week pelvic floor programme. Many women notice improvements in bladder control, prolapse symptoms and pelvic floor strength with continued use and ongoing maintenance exercises.

Using gentle Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES), the Kegel8 Ultra 20 helps activate and exercise the pelvic floor muscles by guiding them to contract and fully relax correctly. Different programmes are designed to support specific pelvic floor conditions, including prolapse, bladder weakness and pelvic floor rehabilitation.

Some programmes are also designed to encourage muscle relaxation, which may help women experiencing pelvic tension, tightness or pelvic discomfort. Your healthcare professional or pelvic health physiotherapist may also recommend additional programmes tailored to your individual needs.

If you intend to exercise manually, you should first concentrate on perfecting the slow flex exercises, completing them 6-10 times a day. Your slow twitch muscle fibres are responsible for endurance and the stamina you have to hold in urine until you reach the toilet. If you follow this routine, you should start to see an improvement within 8-20 weeks. It may seem like a long time, but your improvements depend on your commitment and the original strength of your pelvic floor. You will find that as your muscles get stronger, you can hold your ‘squeeze and lifts’ for longer. It can take regularly exercising for at least 3 months before your muscles will get to full strength.

My Pelvic Floor May Weaken Over Time

There are many stages in life that can place extra strain on the pelvic floor muscles, including pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, ageing and pelvic surgery. These changes can weaken the pelvic floor gradually or more suddenly, increasing the risk of prolapse symptoms and bladder leaks.

The good news is that regularly exercising your pelvic floor can help keep the muscles stronger and more resilient over time. Like any muscle group, the pelvic floor responds better when exercised consistently.

If you know your pelvic floor may be placed under extra strain, increasing your pelvic floor exercises before and during this time may help support recovery and reduce symptoms. Many women also choose to use an electronic pelvic toner to help improve muscle activation and support faster results.

I Have a Strong Pelvic Floor

Once you have built up your pelvic floor strength through regular daily exercises, it’s important to continue maintaining those muscles long-term. Like any muscle in the body, the pelvic floor can weaken again if exercises stop completely.

Many women move onto a simple maintenance routine once their pelvic floor strength has improved. This may include regular manual pelvic floor exercises or using a maintenance programme on an electronic pelvic toner.

Using a biofeedback tool can also help you monitor your pelvic floor strength and check that you are performing your exercises correctly and effectively over time.

Remembering to Exercise

If you find yourself often forgetting to do your Kegel exercises, build them into your routine. Do them whenever you are on the loo after you have emptied your bladder; or during the adverts on TV. You may find it useful to leave post-its in these places as reminders until they become second nature. In doing so you will even help the other people that you live with to remember to do their Kegels!

Use the NHS Squeezy App to set reminders and follow exercise routines so you know you are doing your exercises as you need to, when you need to.

Don't Overdo It!

Listen to your body and if your muscles feel too tired then rest them. When building muscle tone and strength, relaxation is just as important as exercising. For this reason, you should practice your ‘relax’ just as much as your ‘squeeze and lift’.

Over-exercising the pelvic floor muscles can lead to a tightening of the muscles rather than strengthening which can be very painful. If you have experienced pelvic pain associated with overusing the pelvic floor or are worried that it might happen to you, try using an electronic pelvic toner which ensures you are working and resting the correct muscles for the right amount of time.

Sources

Bø, K. Hilde, G. Jensen, J. S. Siafarikas, F. Engh, M. E. (2013). International Urogynecology Journal. Too tight to give birth? Assessment of pelvic floor muscle function in 277 nulliparous pregnant women.[online] 24(12), p2065-2070. [viewed 19/12/2024]. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00192-013-2133-8

Kegel, A. H. (1952) CIBA Clinical Symposia. Stress Incontinence and Genital Relaxation. 4(2), p 35-52. [Viewed 19/12/2024]. Abstract available from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14905555/

NHS Trust. (Reviewed 2023). What are pelvic floor exercises? [online] NHS Trust, 2023. [viewed 19/12/2024]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/10-ways-to-stop-leaks/

NICE. (Updated 2023). Urinary incontinence in neurological disease: assessment and management. [online] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2023. [viewed 19/12/2024]. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg148/resources/urinary-incontinence-in-neurological-disease-assessment-and-management-pdf-35109577553605

Price, N. Dawood, R. Jackson, S. R. (2010). Maturitas. Pelvic floor exercise for urinary incontinence: A systematic literature review. [online] 67(4), p309-315. [viewed 19/12/2024]. Available from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/elvic-floor-exercise-for-urinary-incontinence-%3A-A-Price-Dawood/189c3b354e250e621df819c4dc96ddece0f835ac?p2df

Squeezy app NHS. (2018). squeezy NHS. [online] Propagator Ltd [viewed 19/12/2024] Available from: https://squeezyapp.com/