Pelvic Floor Exercises
Simple instruction for pelvic floor exercises.
Firstly identify the pelvic floor muscles.
- Relax the muscles of your thighs, bottom and stomach.
- Tighten the muscle around the back passage (anus) as if you are trying to control diarrhoea.
- Relax.
Practice this several times until you are sure you are exercising the right muscles. When passing urine, try and stop the flow mid stream, then restart it. By doing this you can check whether you are contracting the correct muscles. Only do this once a week to check your progress, as if you do it more often it may interfere with normal bladder emptying.
Pelvic floor exercises >
- You need to tighten and draw up strongly the muscles around the anus and the urethra, (and vagina for women) all at once, lifting them up inside. Attempt to hold onto this for five seconds (gradually increasing to ten seconds), then relax.
- Repeat the above and relax for at least ten seconds between each contraction.
- Repeat as many times as possible, up to a maximum of ten.
- Go on to do between five and ten short, fast but strong contractions.
- Repeat this routine four to five times a day.
- Do not hold your breath, or push down as opposed to lifting up. Try not to tighten your tummy, bottom or thighs