Leaking urine after childbirth? Try Kegel exercises

Author: Lou Wenjia Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Reviewer: Zhu Lan, Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Some female friends may have encountered such embarrassment - leaking urine when laughing or coughing.

This condition is medically known as stress urinary incontinence, and many postpartum women or middle-aged and elderly women experience this condition. If it happens during a social event, it is embarrassing.

So, is there any good way for female friends to adjust their physical condition and reduce or avoid embarrassing urinary incontinence?

Of course there is, and that is the Kegel exercise that is currently highly recommended by many medical institutions.

1. Kegel exercise - pelvic floor muscle training

Kegel exercises are also called pelvic floor muscle exercises. Patients consciously contract their pelvic floor muscle groups. By exercising these muscle groups, patients can enhance their ability to control urination.

Because it was first proposed by American doctor Arnold Kegel in 1948, people named this exercise "Kegel exercise" after him.

For more than half a century, Kegel exercises have always occupied an important position in the treatment of urinary incontinence, helping many patients out of their predicament and becoming a pelvic floor muscle training method worth trying for female friends. It is still the most commonly used and most effective non-surgical treatment for stress urinary incontinence.

2. Kegel exercises are convenient and easy to practice

Kegel exercises help increase the strength and tension of the pelvic floor muscles and fascia, which is beneficial to pelvic floor blood circulation. If patients can persist in effective training, the effectiveness of treating stress urinary incontinence can reach 70% to 90%.

So, how do you practice Kegel exercises?

Step 1 : Focus your attention and focus your thoughts on your body.

Step 2 : Maintain a steady breathing state.

Step 3 : Slowly contract. Contract your anus or hold your urine, and try to achieve the longest contraction time each time, and rest for 4 seconds. Repeat the above steps 10 times.

Step 4 : Quick contraction. Quickly pull the pelvic floor upward and hold for 1 second. Repeat 10 times.

Patients can follow the steps above to slowly adjust the timing of pelvic floor muscle contraction.

Kegel exercises can be performed 3 times a day, each lasting 10 to 15 minutes. During training, you need to pay attention to the intensity, rate, duration, repetition and fatigue of muscle contractions.

In general, Kegel exercise is a convenient and easy-to-practice exercise. It can achieve better results by coordinating breathing with the body to perform targeted exercises on the pelvic floor muscles.

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

3. Precautions for practicing Kegel exercises

Kegel exercises are not difficult to do, but there are some details that require attention.

First of all , Kegel exercises must be practiced regularly and correctly, and for a certain period of time to be effective.

Secondly , it is important to note that you are contracting the pelvic floor muscles, not the gluteus maximus and abdominal muscles.

Finally , you can practice lying down, sitting or standing. You can practice before going to bed, watching TV, or waiting for the bus. Just find the easiest posture to practice according to your own situation and keep practicing.

How do you find the correct muscle group to contract?

You can put two fingers into the vagina and feel the contraction of the muscles. If you feel pressure from the side on your fingertips, it means that the contraction is effective. At the same time, place your other hand on your abdomen to feel whether the abdominal muscles are relaxed.

Even if the symptoms have improved, you still need to continue exercising so that you can actively and forcefully contract your pelvic floor muscles before coughing, sneezing or laughing to avoid embarrassment.

So, how can doctors help us know if we are doing pelvic floor muscle exercises correctly?

During hospital examinations, doctors will use biofeedback recorders to assess the patient’s condition. The patient can see the contraction strength of their pelvic floor muscles and the pressure in the vagina through the recorder, which can help them adjust their movements.

Conclusion

With the development of medical technology, people are paying more and more attention to their own health. Pelvic floor health has gradually entered people's understanding.

All national health institutions pay close attention to female pelvic floor dysfunction. my country has also established a three-level diagnosis and treatment model, building a screening center, a prevention and treatment center, and a diagnosis and treatment center, and has established a training center and a quality control center. More and more medical workers are engaged in the work of pelvic floor health.

This is the best news for most women. I believe that with the popularization and promotion of relevant knowledge, more and more female friends will pay attention to their pelvic floor health and have a better life experience.