Why Kegels Aren’t The Answer!
What is a kegel? And how come so many people do their kegels, but say “they don’t help?” Let’s address this topic now!
History of the Kegel A Kegel is a pelvic floor muscle contraction. If you are reading this now, try to act as if you are holding in urine or act as if you are picking up a blueberry with your vagina, or you are trying to draw your testicles towards your abdomen. This motion is a pelvic floor muscle contraction, also known as a Kegel. Dr. Kegel was an American Gynecologist who first described this action in the 1950s when working with postpartum people. He found that the pelvic floor muscles are weak in those that are postpartum and told people to perform “Kegels” decrease urinary leaking aand to enhance intercourse.
Misconceptions about Kegels
Since the 1950s, research shows that ‘Kegels” are not always the answer, most people complete them incorrectly, AND can do more harm than good depending on the persons symptoms. Furthermore, literature no longer uses the term ‘Kegels.’ Instead, literature call this action, a pelvic floor muscle contraction. Here are some reasons, to use the phrase “pelvic floor muscle contraction” instead of “Kegel.”
Reason 1: Kegels have a reputation and perception. Most of us have heard, “just do your kegels and you will have a strong pelvic floor.” Or, “do your kegels and you won’t leak urine.” Well guess what?! We now know that Kegels in certain situations can actually do more harm than good. Why is that? The pelvic floor is like any other muscle in the body; the muscles contract, relax, and can stretch or lenthen. It is important to learn to coordinate the pelvic floor in all directions just as we do with the hamstrings or the quadriceps to ensure proper movement to prevent symptoms such as urine incontinence, urinary urgency, and constipation. The term ‘Kegel” implies motion in only one direction, when movement in all directions ultimately improves pelvic floor function. Futhermore, it is important to learn to coordinate the pelvic floor with the rest of the body and solely performing Kegels does not imply this or convey this message. Ultimately, the word Kegel continues to perpetuate misinformation about the pelvic floor and can hurt people further and/or make some symptoms worse.
Reason 2: Medical literature does not use the term ‘Kegels.’ Literature and medical journals use the term “pelvic floor muscle training” or “pelvic floor muscle contraction.” This term accurately describes what the muscles are doing. So let’s move away from using a physician name to describe a muscle action and le’s name it for what the body is doing. Using the word “contraction” gives education and has more credibility.
Reason 3: The medical community is also moving away from naming body parts after people. The pelvic floor is no different. In fact, did you know several anatomical structures of the vulva are named after male physicians?! For example, Bartholin’s Gland and Skene’s Gland are glands that participate in lubricating the vagina and are named after the male physicians that discovered them. Dr. Kegel is a male gynecologist for which Kegels are named after. As a social activist and advocate for pelvic health, we use neutral terms to discuss pelvic floor muscle movement.
If you have questions about the pelvic floor and how to coordinate the pelvic floor and coordinate it with movement, then reach out to us for an evaluation. We can help you learn about the pelvic floor and how to coordinate the pelvic floor with the other parts of your core.
Movements of the Pelvic Floor- Let’s try it!
A pelvic floor muscle contraction is only one third of what the pelvic floor muscles do and how they should be used/exercised. The pelvic floor muscles are like any other muscle in the body, they contract, they relax, and then they can stretch. Healthy pelvic floor muscles can be coordinated in these three directions.
Let’s try to move the pelvic floor in all these directions:
Act as if you are holding in urine, picking up a blueberry with your vagina, or act as if you are drawing your scrotum to your abdomen. Hold for a couple of seconds. Then release.
As you release the pelvic floor, you should feel it open back up to baseline or where it began prior to the contraction.
Now, gently inhale and press down, or act as if you are pressing downwards like you are passing gas or gently pushing a bowel movement out. This is lengthening of the pelvic floor
The pelvic floor muscles need to be able to move in all these directions to be strong, active, and coordinated. If patients are not able to contract or are unable to relax after contracting, this can lead to pelvic floor muscle dysfunction and present as urine leaking, incomplete bladder emptying, constipation, and/or pain.