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Information Resources > Female Urology > Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women

Q1. What are the pelvic floor muscles?    Q2. What are the reasons for the weakening of the pelvic muscles?   Q3. Who should learn pelvic floor exercises? What are the benefits of pelvic floor exercises?   Q4. How do I contract my pelvic floor muscles?   Q5. How do I perform pelvic floor exercises?   Q6. What shouldn't I do while performing these exercises?   Q7. How do I make these exercises part of my daily routine?   Q8. What are the other things I can do to look after my pelvic muscles?   .............................................................................................................................................................................................     Q1. What are the pelvic floor muscles? A1. The floor of the pelvis is made up of layers of muscle and other tissues. These layers stretch like a hammock from the tailbone 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 muscles. The pelvic floor muscle has an important role in bladder and bowel control, and sexual sensation. We have control over the pelvic muscles. Like other muscles in the body, exercise strengthens them when they are weak.   ....................................................................................................................................................................................  Q2. What are the reasons for the weakening of the pelvic muscles?  A2. 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) Lack of general fitness   ....................................................................................................................................................................................  Q3. Who should learn pelvic floor exercises? What are the benefits of pelvic floor exercises? A3. It is important for women of all ages to maintain pelvic floor muscle strength. Women with stress incontinence, that is, especially those who regularly lose urine when coughing, sneezing or exercising, should learn these exercises. For pregnant women, pelvic floor exercises help the body to cope with the increasing weight of the baby. Healthy, fit muscles before childbirth will recover more fully after childbirth. As women grow older, it is important to keep the pelvic floor muscle strong because at menopause the muscles may change and weaken. A pelvic floor exercise routine helps to minimise the effects of menopause on pelvic support and bladder control. Pelvic floor exercises may be also useful in conjunction with a bladder-training program.   ..................................................................................................................................................................................... Q4. How do I contract my pelvic floor muscles?                                                                                                                   top A4. The first thing to do is to correctly identify the muscles that need to be exercised. Sit or lie comfortably with the muscles of your thighs, buttocks and abdomen relaxed. Tighten the ring of muscle around the back passage as if you are trying to control diarrhoea or wind and then relax it. Practice this movement several times until you are sure you are exercising the correct muscle. Try not to squeeze your buttocks. When you are passing urine, try to stop the flow mid-stream and then restart it. Only do this to learn which muscles are the correct ones to use and then do it only once a week to check your progress. If you feel comfortable, another way to check that you are using the correct muscles is to place one or two fingers in your vagina and then squeeze the pelvic muscles. Squeezing the muscles will cause them to grip the fingers. If the muscles are very weak, you may not feel much of a grip until they improve with exercise. Strong muscles will produce a squeezing and drawing-up effect.   ....................................................................................................................................................................................  Q5. How do I perform pelvic floor exercises?  A5. Now that you can feel the muscles working, exercise them by: Tightening and drawing in around the rectum, the vagina and the urethra all at once, 'lifting it UP inside'. Try and hold this contraction as you count to five. Then release and relax. You should have a definite feeling of 'letting go'. 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 it for longer – up to ten seconds. Repeat this as many times as you are able – up to a maximum of 8-10 squeezes. Now do five to ten short, fast but strong contractions. Do this exercise routinely at least 4-5 times every day.   ....................................................................................................................................................................................  Q6. What shouldn't I do while performing these exercises?  A6. While performing these exercises: DO NOT hold your breath DO NOT push down instead of squeezing and lifting UP DO NOT tighten your tummy, buttocks or thighs   ....................................................................................................................................................................................  Q7. How do I make these exercises part of my daily routine?  A7. Once you have learned how to do these exercises, they can be done during the course of your everyday activities. Such activities might include: Showering Brushing your teeth After urinating Watching TV Waiting in your car at a traffic signal Putting on the kettle It might be helpful to have at least five regular times during the day for doing these exercises.   .................................................................................................................................................................................... Q8. What are the other things I can do to look after my pelvic muscles?  A8. You can take the following measures to look after your pelvic muscles: Share the lifting of heavy loads Avoid constipation and refrain from straining during a bowel movement Seek medical advice for hay fever, asthma and bronchitis in order to reduce sneezing and coughing Keep your weight within the right range for your height and age. If you find it difficult to do these exercises or you feel that you are not improving, don't give up. Seek help from a health professional who specialises in this area.   top