5 Pelvic Floor Exercises You Can Do at Home | South Miami OB-GYN Associates

Are you experiencing urinary leakage when you laugh, sneeze, cough, or run? Urinary stress incontinence is not uncommon and may be a sign of a weakened pelvic floor. While urinary incontinence is not always preventable, it can be managed and treated.

Pelvic floor exercises are often effective at treating urinary stress incontinence and pelvic floor weakness. Here is a list of some of the exercises recommended to strengthen or relax your pelvic floor muscles. But as always, we recommend meeting with your OB-GYN for a complete diagnosis and then consulting with a pelvic floor therapist for a personalized plan.

What is the Pelvic Floor?

Connective tissues and muscles that are attached to the bottom of the pelvis are also known as the pelvic floor. In general, pelvic organs consist of the rectum, intestines, bladder, and urethra. For women, the pelvic floor also includes the vagina, cervix, and uterus.

Your pelvic floor muscles are key to providing support for your pelvic floor. They are also important for your sexual health and can affect your ability to get aroused and reach orgasm. Also, the pelvic floor muscles are responsible for stabilizing the trunk and hips while standing or walking.

What Are the Possible Causes of Pelvic Muscle Dysfunction?

There are many causes of pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. Labor and delivery can cause your pelvic floor muscles to weaken. Constant sitting for very long intervals or lifting heavy objects, surgical procedures, menopause, sexual abuse, and being overweight can also be factors.

Other health conditions such as IBS, endometriosis, restricted bowel movements, and interstitial cystitis could also contribute to pelvic pain and issues with pelvic floor function.

There are two distinctly different issues with pelvic floor muscles; they can be hypotonic or hypertonic. Hypotonic pelvic floor muscles tend to be weakened and lax, while hypertonic pelvic floor muscles are overactive and too tight. In some cases, people could suffer from both hypotonic and hypertonic pelvic floor muscle problems.

This is precisely why it’s important to talk to your doctor before starting pelvic floor exercises on your own. You might assume that your pelvic floor muscles are weak and start doing strengthening pelvic floor physical therapy exercises, when in reality, you may be in desperate need to relax them.

The following sets of pelvic floor exercises are generally safe for everyone to do and are divided based on whether you need to strengthen or relax your pelvic floor muscles.

Strengthening Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Exercises: Hypotonic Exercises

1. Quick Flick Kegels

The so-called quick flick Kegels are contraction-based exercises that can activate and strengthen pelvic floor muscles relatively quickly. These particular contractions are particularly effective in reducing urinary leaks after coughing, or sneezing.

Start by lying on your back on the floor, with bent knees and flat feet. Once you become comfortable in this position, do the same exercises standing and sitting.
Contract and release your pelvic floor muscles for about one second while exhaling. Do about ten reps of this in two to three sets, with a ten-second rest in between the sets.

2. Heel Slides

Heel slides mainly target deep abdominal muscles through pelvic floor contractions.

Start by lying on your back on the floor, with bent knees and your feet flat on the floor. Inhale deeply, but exhale via your mouth to compress your ribs slightly.
Bring your pelvic floor up while strengthening your core. In this position, slide away from your right heel as much as you can while keeping your core locked.
Release your core and resume the starting position, and then return your leg to its original place.
Repeat the heel slides about ten times for each leg.

3. Marches or Toe Taps

Marches or toe taps also use pelvic floor contractions to strengthen the core.

Start by lying on your back on the floor, with bent knees and flat feet. Like with heel slides, inhale deeply, but exhale via your mouth to compress your ribs slightly. Also, bring your pelvic floor up while strengthening your core.
From this point on, the exercise diverges from the heel slides. Instead of sliding away from your heel, you should lift one leg slowly up to about tabletop height. Then return the leg to the original position slowly.
Keep your core locked so that you don’t feel any pain in your lower back. Repeat this exercise about 12 to 20 times for each leg.

Relaxing Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises: Hypertonic Exercises

In case your pelvic floor is too tight or short, you can learn how to relax your pelvic floor muscles by practicing hypertonic exercises such as the happy baby pose and diaphragmic breathing.

4. Happy Baby Pose

Start by lying on your back on the floor, with bent knees and flat feet. Then slowly bend your knees towards your stomach at 90 degrees, with your soles up. Proceed to grab your feet while holding this position.
Then spread your knees just enough so that they’re a bit wider than your torso. Gently start pulling your feet towards your armpits, but don’t push too hard and maintain the ankle height above your knees.
Start flexing your heels and pushing the feet into your hands. Breathe slowly and steadily while in this position. You can also try rocking from side to side, like you would picture a happy baby doing. Release after a couple of breaths.

5. Diaphragmatic Breathing

Not only does diaphragmic breathing allow for effective stress relief, but it also promotes a better connection between the pelvic floor and the diaphragm.

Start by lying on your back on the floor or yoga mat. It’s also possible to do this while sitting.
Try to fully relax for a couple of seconds and release all the pent-up tension in your body. When you feel relaxed, place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
Keep your chest relatively still while inhaling for a couple of seconds and expanding the stomach. Proceed to slowly exhale.
Repeat this breathing exercise several times while keeping your hands on your chest and stomach.

In order to further relax your pelvic floor muscles and keep them strong at the same time, you can always add squats and lunges to your pelvic floor muscle workout.

Introducing pelvic floor exercises to your daily routine doesn’t require much time or effort, yet the effects can be very beneficial for your health. In case you feel unsure about doing these exercises correctly or have absolutely no experience with this type of workout, you can always rely on a professional pelvic floor therapist to guide you through the process.

At South Miami OBGYN Associates, we not only provide obstetrics and gynecological services, but we also provide expert solutions for pelvic floor disorders and urinary incontinence.