Kegel Blog womens vaginal health, incontinence, sexual health

Urinary Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine from the bladder. The main symptom of Stress Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine while coughing, Sneezing, laughing, exercising, or doing similar activities. It is second only to Stress Incontinence as the most common cause of urinary Incontinence (involuntary loss of urine). Urge Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine associated with a strong desire to urinate. Usually, the most important factor to consider when selecting a surgical procedure to treat Stress urinary Incontinence is its long-term cure rate.

Mixed Incontinence is when a woman experiences both Stress and urge urinary Incontinence. In theory, urge urinary Incontinence could be managed successfully by primary care physicians. Older treatments for Urge urinary Incontinence are associated with a number of unpleasant side effects, leaving significant unmet need in this market. Methods to address diagnosis and treatment of Urge urinary Incontinence in the primary care setting should reflect the priorities of primary care physicians. The impact of urge urinary Incontinence on quality of life: importance of patients’ perspective and explanatory style. Usually, the most important factor to consider when selecting a surgical procedure to treat Stress urinary Incontinence is its long-term cure rate.

In less severe cases, Stress Incontinence can be treated with Kegel exercises, or exercises that strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. Stress Incontinence can be caused by childbirth, weight gain, or other conditions that stretch the pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary Incontinence in women (Review). There are ways to prevent urinary incontinence: Exercising the muscles of the pelvic floor can help. Abstract: Indwelling electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor by a radio- implant benefits some cases of problem or recurrent urinary Incontinence. Usually, the most important factor to consider when selecting a surgical procedure to treat Stress urinary Incontinence is its long-term cure rate.

Treatment depends on the cause and severity of Incontinence. Treatment depends on the type of urinary Incontinence. Specific treatment depends on the type of urinary incontinence: 1. Stress urinary Incontinence can be treated with nonsurgical and surgical methods.

Surgery to correct pelvic support defects in Stress Incontinence, urinary tract abnormalities or to remove abnormal tumours eg. Infection: In Urinary Tract Infection Incontinence may be the only symptom of what can be a serious infection. Other treatable medical conditions can cause or exacerbate Incontinence as well, including Urinary Tract Infections, severe Constipation or atrophic vaginitis. Stress urinary Incontinence can be treated with nonsurgical and surgical methods.

Those with mixed Incontinence experience mild to moderate urine loss with physical activities (Stress Incontinence). At other times, they experience sudden urine loss without any warning (urge Incontinence). Urge Incontinence With urge Incontinence, or overactive bladder, there is uncontrolled urine loss associated with a strong need to go to the bathroom. Stress urinary Incontinence can be treated with nonsurgical and surgical methods.

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Vaginal rejuvenation (or vaginoplasty) is the reconstruction of the vaginal vault and perineum. This procedure makes the vagina smaller and strengthens the pelvic floor, enabling patients to achieve greater sexual fulfillment. It is increasingly becoming one of the most requested plastic surgeries today.

Facts about Vaginal Rejuvenation Surgery
With age and life’s events, such as pregnancy and childbirth, vaginal tissues and the pelvic floor become weak and saggy. This is especially true after pregnancy since the vagina becomes stretched and often loses its ability to contract or squeeze the pelvic muscles on command. Vaginal rejuvenation will tone the vaginal muscles, resulting in better strength and control, thus improving sexual experiences.

This surgery is a procedure in which the vagina is made smaller and the PC muscles are made stronger. This surgery can also give the vagina a younger appearance–less sag, and less visible wear and tear. And since the patient will regain control of her PC muscle, she will not only increase her sexual satisfaction, she will avoid suffering from the condition of incontinence.

Lasers are used for the surgery to perform exact, aesthetic incisions. This technique means the procedure is relatively bloodless and can be performed on an outpatient basis. Vaginal rejuvenation will also build up the area located between the vagina opening and the anus, resulting in more sensation experienced during intercourse.

Describes the pelvic floor muscles, what may cause them to weaken, the benefits of pelvic floor exercises and how to do pelvic floor exercises (information from the Continence Foundation of Australia).

What are the pelvic floor muscles?

The floor of the pelvis is made up of layers of muscle and other tissues. These layers stretch like a hammock from the tail bone at the back to the pubic bone in front. A woman’s pelvic floor supports the bladder, the womb (uterus) and the bowel. The urethra (front passage), the vagina (birth canal) and the rectum (back passage) pass through the pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles play an important role in bladder and bowel control and sexual sensation.

Why the pelvic floor muscles may weaken

The pelvic floor muscles can be weakened by:

• pregnancy and childbirth;
• continual straining to empty your bowels (constipation);
• persistent heavy lifting;
• a chronic cough (such as smoker’s cough or chronic bronchitis and asthma);
• being overweight;
• changes in hormone levels at menopause (change of life); and
• lack of general fitness.

The benefits of pelvic floor exercises

It is important for women of all ages to maintain pelvic floor muscle strength. Women with stress incontinence, that is, those who regularly lose urine when coughing, sneezing or exercising, should especially benefit from these exercises. For pregnant women these exercises help the body to cope with the increasing weight of the baby. Healthy, fit muscles pre-natally will recover more readily after the birth.

As women grow older it is important to keep the pelvic floor muscles strong because at menopause the muscles change and may weaken. A pelvic floor exercise routine helps to minimise the effects of menopause on pelvic support and bladder control.

Pelvic floor exercises may also be useful in conjunction with a bladder training program aimed at improving bladder control in people who experience the urgent need to pass urine frequently (urge incontinence). Bladder training is explained in the Continence Foundation of Australia ‘Bladder Training’ leaflet and fact sheet.

How to contract the pelvic floor muscles
The first thing to do is to correctly identify the muscles that need to be exercised.

1. Sit or lie down comfortably with the muscles of your thighs, buttocks and abdomen relaxed
2. Tighten the ring of muscle around the back passage as if you are trying to control diarrhoea or wind. Relax it. Practice this movement several times until you are sure you are exercising the correct muscle. Try not to squeeze your buttocks.
3. When you are passing urine, try to stop the flow mid-stream, then restart it. Only do this to learn which muscles are the correct ones to use and then do it no more than once a week to cheek your progress, as this may interfere with normal bladder emptying.

If you are unable to feel a definite squeeze and lift action of your pelvic floor muscles or are unable to even slow the stream of urine as described in point 3, you should seek professional help to get your pelvic floor muscles working correctly. Even women with very weak pelvic floor muscles can be taught these exercises by a physiotherapist or continence advisor with expertise in this area.

Doing pelvic floor exercises

If you can feel the muscles working, exercise them by:

1. Tightening and drawing in around the anus, the vagina and the urethra all at once, lifting them UP inside. Try and hold this contraction strongly as you count to five then release and relax. You should have a definite feeling of ‘letting go’.
2. Repeat (’squeeze and lift’) and relax. It is important to rest for about 10 seconds in between each contraction. If you find it easy to hold for a count of five, try to hold for longer - up to ten seconds.
3. Repeat this as many times as you are able up to a maximum of 8-10 squeezes.
4. Now do five to ten short, fast, but
5. strong contractions.
6. Do this whole exercise routine at least 4-5 times every day.

While doing the exercises:

• DO NOT hold your breath.
• DO NOT push down instead of squeezing and lifting up.
• DO NOT tighten your tummy, buttocks or thighs.

Do your exercises well - the quality is important. Fewer good exercises will be more beneficial than many half hearted ones.

Once you have learnt how to do these exercises, they should be done regularly, giving each set your full attention. It might be helpful to have at least five regular times during the day for doing the exercises. For example, after going to the toilet, when having a drink, when lying in bed.

Other things you can do to help your pelvic floor muscles

• share the lifting of heavy loads;
• avoid constipation and prevent any straining during a bowel movement;
• seek medical advice for hay-fever, asthma and bronchitis to reduce sneezing and coughing; and
• keep your weight within the right range for your height and age.

Seek help

Good results take time. In order to build up your pelvic floor muscles to their maximum strength you will need to work hard at these exercises. The best results are achieved by seeking help from a physiotherapist or continence advisor who will design an individual exercise program especially suited to your muscles.

Remember: you are not alone. Incontinence can be cured, treated or more effectively managed.

One more try of a KegelPro ended in success. Patricia Lee tried it and loved it. Here is a excerpt from her review:

I received my KegelPro yesterday so was anxious to give it a try. From opening the box to completion of the exercises only took about 5 minutes. You simply give it a wash, apply a little lube, insert it, and begin exercising. Instructions are provided for this process. ….

….For effective exercise, I would recommend contracting the muscles at varying intervals during each exercise session. Start by squeezing for 2 seconds then releasing and building up from there.

…Likes - It’s quick, it’s easy, and targeting the PC muscle is much less of a challenge than with other methods. It is particularly beneficial for those who have never done Kegel exercises before, but makes exercising easier for those more experienced also.

Dislikes - While the instructions are easy to follow, I would have liked to see an insert with diagrams and larger print. As far as the product goes, I have no complaints.

To read a full review go to Patricia Lee’s Blog

So many great events in life can wreak havoc on your pelvic muscles. Pregnancy, childbirth and overeating are all culprits. For women especially, it is almost a necessity to perform pelvic exercises as we age.

Will I See Results with Pelvic Exercises?
Your pelvic floor muscles are like any other muscle in your body–without exercise, they can become weak. Add to that any one of the events discussed above and you may end up with a damaged pelvic floor. Pelvic exercises are done to strengthen your pelvic floor area and regain its elasticity.

For women with bladder control problems, these exercises can literally work miracles. By going through the motion of tightening and then relaxing your muscle, you will tone and reshape it, allowing you to have better control over your bladder as well as enhanced stimulation during intercourse. Even exercising just five minutes a day can make a huge difference in your incontinence symptoms and sex life.

As with any exercise program, it is important that you train the right muscle. With pelvic exercises, this is extremely important. You may want to ask your gynecologist to help you find the muscle and instruct you in the proper way to perform the exercises.

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After child birth, exercises are essential to repairing the muscle found along your pelvic floor, commonly referred to as the PC muscle. With the additional weight put on the PC muscle during pregnancy, coupled with the stress it incurs during labor, it is quite common for women to lose control over this muscle. That’s why it is a necessity to perform after child birth exercises–the most renowned being Kegel exercises–following your labor and delivery.

If you have had a normal vaginal delivery with little or no complications, you can begin performing your after child birth exercises immediately. You can even do them while you are still in the hospital waiting to go home. You simply need to know how to do the exercises properly to obtain results.

If it occurs to you during your pregnancy, you may want to purchase an exercise machine designed specifically for this muscle. Kegel exercises will help you regain control over your PC muscle so that you will not experience incontinence or loss of sexual sensation due to the trauma this muscle has endured. Why wait until after labor to start?

It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to exercise this muscle after giving birth. No one wants to suffer the humiliation of incontinence, and if you exercise this muscle, you won’t have to. All it takes is a few minutes each day and you can regain the strength in your pelvic floor area that is needed to avoid any potential health issues.

It was exciting to see Jane Magazine write about the KegelPro. Women nation wide finally got to see and few lucky once got to try our product. So enjoy the glory of that year with me one more time you can see the article here

For many years there were very few adult incontinence treatments for people to choose from. As a matter of fact, the most common treatment was invasive surgery to tighten a damaged PC muscle. However, all that changed in 1948 with the discovery of a certain exercise by Dr. Arnold Kegel.

Kegel Exercisers and Programs are Today’s Adult Incontinence Treatments
Rather than go through the process of major surgery–your PC muscle is located just below the pelvis–Dr. Kegel found that by simply contracting this muscle over and over, your PC muscle will regain its strength and elasticity. If your PC muscle has been stretched due to childbirth or simply by incontinence brought on by the aging process, these incontinence treatments can provide you with welcome relief.

By using a Kegel exerciser and putting your muscle through these exercises on a regular basis, incontinence becomes a thing of the past. Today’s adult incontinence treatments really do work since the exercisers are designed to provide resistance specifically to the PC muscle. Exercisers isolate your PC muscle so that it can be worked properly to alleviate this uncomfortable condition.

With so many adults experiencing incontinence–perhaps you are too–it is really worth your time and money to invest in adult incontinence treatments. The exercises can and do work, and do not take very long to do every day. It only takes a few minutes to perform them and soon you will find you are no longer worried about this debilitating condition.