Kegels: Are You Doing Them Correctly and Could Biofeedback Help?

by Decreased Sexual SensationGeneral Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessWomen's Healthcare
Get this: studies show that 50% of women cannot do a correct Kegel (or pelvic floor muscle contraction) when guided only by written instructions.It’s true. Sad, but true.

There are lots of women out there earnestly doing Kegels, but incorrectly. Many women mistakenly tighten their buttock, thigh, or abdominal muscles instead of their pelvic floor muscles when doing a Kegel. While this may get them in shape for bikini weather, it won’t tone the muscles needed to prevent urinary incontinence … or increase sexual satisfaction.

Biofeedback: One Way to Ensure a Correct Kegel
If you are not sure whether you are doing your Kegel exercises correctly, or you are not getting the desired results, then you may want to consider biofeedback. Biofeedback uses a computerized device which tells you, with pictures and/or sounds, whether you are tightening the right muscles during a Kegel contraction.

There are several types of biofeedback machines available, and most are used as part of a therapy session guided by a nurse specialist or physical therapist. Usually, one of two types of sensors is used in biofeedback therapy. One is a tampon-like sensor that is placed inside the vagina. The other is an external sensor that is placed just outside the anus.

These sensors are then connected to a computer, which converts the electrical activity from your muscles (as you do a Kegel) into either pictures or sounds that are “fed back” to you. You will actually see and/or hear when you are tightening the correct pelvic floor muscles, and when you are not.

The job of the physical therapist or nurse specialist is to guide you in using the biofeedback machine until you can properly locate and contract your pelvic floor muscles. You then become much more aware of your pelvic floor muscles, and eventually can do correct Kegel contractions without the biofeedback machine. This kind of biofeedback therapy has been shown to be effective in resolving symptoms of women’s urinary incontinence.

So, if you aren’t sure whether you are doing Kegels correctly, or your results are less than satisfactory, consider seeking the help of a physical therapist offering biofeedback therapy.

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Women’s Urinary Incontinence Twice as Likely Occur as Men’s

by General Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessWomen's Healthcare
Did you know that women are twice as likely as men to suffer from urinary incontinence? What’s up with that?

Unfortunately, ladies, it is true-sad, but true. 

Women experience urinary incontinence two times more often than men … and that’s because women go through all kinds of life experiences that men never do.

Women’s Urinary Incontinence and Life Experiences
What experiences do women have that men never do? Here’s a list:

– pregnancy
– childbirth
– menopause
– the structure of the female urinary tract

Pregnancy and Childbirth
Pregnancy and childbirth are “no brainers” when it comes to causing women’s urinary incontinence. Both of these events, though joyous, can stretch and strain muscles, tendons, and ligaments “down there.” The result is a weakened pelvic floor, and an increased chance of urine leakage.

Menopause
Menopause, another life experience unique to women, brings about many hormonal changes that can lead to urinary incontinence. For instance, at the onset of menopause, estrogen levels in a woman’s body tend to drop. Estrogen is important for keeping the bladder strong, maintaining the health of the urinary tract lining, and keeping the vaginal wall thick. When the levels of estrogen drop, all of these organs suffer, and the result is often urinary incontinence.

The Structure of the Female Urinary Tract
Finally, as if pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause were not enough to deal with, women are also endowed with a urinary tract that is anatomically more likely to leak urine. It turns out that men have a longer urethra, and their entire anatomy for handling urine is much better for preventing urine leakage. Says Jean Fourcroy, MD, a Washington D.C. urologist, a consultant to Walter Reed Army Hospital, and former Food and Drug Administration medical examiner, “[Men are] in an anatomically better position to control [urine] until they get to the bathroom.”

How Can Women Beat the Odds?
While it is true that women are twice as likely to suffer from urinary incontinence, for all the reasons listed above, there is no reason to allow yourself to become just another statistic. Instead, take action now to beat the odds. Whether or not you currently have urinary incontinence, now is the time to begin strengthening your pelvic floor muscles to prevent and/or decrease urine leakage.

Don’t know how? Our handy dandy step-by-step ebook will walk you through not only how to test the strength of your pelvic floor muscles, but also how to do correct Kegels to strengthen your muscles “down there.”

The ebook is free and knowledge is power, so what are you waiting for?

Download the ebook “What’s Up Down There?” here

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Women’s Urinary Incontinence Affected by Mental Changes

by General Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessWomen's Healthcare
It turns out that if you have urinary incontinence it could be “all in your head!” Of course, we don’t mean that urine leakage isn’t real, or that you don’t have to deal with adult diapers, finding bathrooms, and all the other problems associated with women’s urinary incontinence.

What we do mean is that mental changes can often be the triggering factor that either causes women to start having urinary incontinence or worsens existing symptoms.

Mental Changes and Women’s Urinary Incontinence
It turns out that there are three major mental changes that can contribute to women’s urinary incontinence. These are:

  • Severe depression
  • Confusion or delirium
  • Severe memory loss
Severe depression contributes to urinary incontinence because often a severely depressed woman lacks the motivation to get up and go to the bathroom. With this level of depression, a woman lacks the incentive to take daily care of herself, including attending to bathroom needs.

Confusion or delirium, which can be caused by illness or medications, often results in urinary incontinence. In these cases, the person either is not aware of the urge to urinate, or cannot find the bathroom in time.

Finally, severe memory loss can affect a person’s ability to find a bathroom, or remember toileting procedures. Whether because of an accident or illness, such as a stroke, a woman who was previously continent may now become incontinent because she cannot remember where to go when she has to urinate, or what to do once she finds the bathroom.

Depending on whether these three types of mental changes-depression, confusion, or memory loss-are permanent, chances are that when the mental issue is resolved, the urinary incontinence issues will also be resolved.

To learn more about the different kinds of women’s urinary incontinence, click the link below:

Is This You?

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Women’s Urinary Incontinence: The Many Faces

by General Urinary IncontinenceMixed Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessStress Urinary IncontinenceUrge Urinary Incontinence

If you think that the face of women’s urinary incontinence is an aging baby boomer headed for assisted living, then think again. 

Contrary to popular opinion, urinary incontinence affects women of all ages, from the teenager who suffers from “giggle incontinence” to the young woman athlete who strains something “down there.”

And then there’s the 30-something mother who suddenly finds herself in wet panties post-partum, and the 45-year-old career woman who suddenly can’t work out because she leaks urine every time she gets on the treadmill.

Still think you recognize all the faces of women’s urinary incontinence?

Women’s Urinary Incontinence by Age Group
Urinary incontinence isn’t normal at any age, and yet it can happen to females at any age. We’re all familiar with the poor bladder control in toddlers, but few women expect to deal with the problem again until much later in life. Unfortunately, it happens, though for different reasons at different points in our lives.

Giggle Incontinence in Youngsters
As the name suggests, giggle incontinence happens to young adults in their pre-teen and teenage years, usually when they giggle or otherwise put pressure on their bladders. This condition affects about 7% of young women in the U.S., and most children and young adults who suffer from this condition don’t have any physical abnormalities. Research indicates that this condition may be genetically-linked and can be passed down from parents to children.

The good news is that giggle incontinence can be treated with conservative measures and behavior modification. Read more about resolving giggle incontinence here.

Young Women
Women in their 20s and 30s often develop symptoms of urinary incontinence for a variety of reasons. Avid athletes who participate in high-impact sports can develop weakened pelvic floor muscles or suffer injuries in their pelvic region, resulting in urine leakage. Some young women have naturally weak pelvic floor muscles, which can also cause urinary incontinence. For these women, conservative measures, such as doing correct Kegels, can strengthen their pelvic floor muscles and often resolve urine leakage issues.

Post-Partum Women
Many a post-partum woman has returned to her normal exercise routine only to discover that she now leaks urine. The effects of pregnancy and vaginal deliveries can weaken a woman’s pelvic floor muscles, causing urinary incontinence. Although many women do Kegels during pregnancy and post-partum, a large number of them do this pelvic floor contraction incorrectly, which does little to alleviate their urine leakage. Luckily, learning to do correct Kegels and using other conservative measures, such as medication and behavior modification, can often help these women resolve their symptoms.

Baby Boomers
While this is the most recognized face of women’s urinary incontinence, the baby boomer woman who has urinary incontinence may also be the one least likely to seek help. Many older women assume that urine leakage is just a normal sign of aging, so don’t ask their doctors for help. If you are a baby boomer with urinary incontinence, don’t let your age stop you from getting the help you need. There are many options available to women at any age for dealing with urinary incontinence, so be sure to explore all of your options!

Explore the Many Faces of Women’s Urinary Incontinence
In this blog post we cover the faces of women’s urinary incontinence by age group, but there are also different faces associated with the three kinds of urinary incontinence, which are stress, urge, and mixed. Women with weak pelvic floor muscles can also experience pelvic organ prolapse and decreased sexual sensation. Learn all the different faces of urinary incontinence, decide if one of them belongs to you, and get on the road to recovery by starting with these links:

Is This You?
What’s Up Down There? A Free Ebook on Women’s Pelvic Floor Health

If you enjoyed this post, we invite you to leave a comment, contact us, download our ebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Women’s Urinary Incontinence: Discreet Online Resources

by General Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessWomen's Healthcare

While urinary incontinence is becoming a more prevalent condition than more well-known ailments like Alzheimer’s or diabetes, people suffering from this condition are less likely to seek treatment. In fact, experts estimate that between 50% and 75% of the cases of women’s urinary incontinence are never reported. Why?

Either because it’s too embarrassing or because women just think urinary incontinence is a normal part of aging.

Knowledge is Power: Learn about Urinary Incontinence Discreetly
If either embarrassment or lack of knowledge is preventing you from seeking help for your urinary incontinence, then we’ve got news for you!

First of all, urinary incontinence is not normal at any age, so don’t accept it as simply a normal sign of aging. Instead, learn more about women’s urinary incontinence so you can get the help you need, rather than just coping with your symptoms.

Second, if you do feel too embarrassed to ask your doctor for help at this point, it doesn’t mean you can’t help yourself. You can help yourself by learning about urinary incontinence. Knowledge is power! Today there are thousands of resources online where you can learn about the symptoms of, treatments for, and options available for women’s urinary incontinence.

And you can learn all of this without leaving your home. Just turn on your computer and start clicking the links below. There is a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be uncovered and discovered … all without embarrassment.

Ready? Then dive in!

Online Resources for Women’s Urinary Incontinence

Free Ebook: “What’s Up Down There? A Quickie Guide for Evaluating and Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor Muscles”

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American Urologic Association Foundation

Gilbert Guide: Adult Incontinence

Medline Plus: National Library of Medicine

National Association for Continence

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What’s Up Down There? Ebook Tells if You are Loose as a Goose or …?

by General Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessWomen's Healthcare

Kegels. Most women have heard of them. Some women do them. Very few women actually do them correctly!

Yet, doing correct Kegels on a regular basis can have a huge positive impact on a woman’s pelvic floor health, sex life, and even self confidence.

Correct pelvic floor exercises are especially important for women suffering from urinary incontinence, since toning the pelvic floor muscles can often improve or even cure symptoms.

But Kegels and other pelvic floor exercises only help if you do them correctly, and to help more women do better Kegels, we’ve developed an educational and fun quick guide for women who want to know:

“What’s up down there?”

Are You as Loose as a Goose or a Pelvic Floor Goddess
Believe it or not, quite a few women are “as loose as a goose” down there and don’t even know it. Some women are simply born with less-than-toned pelvic floor muscles while other women lose tone down there as a result of giving birth or aging.

Our short no-cost ebook guide gives you two self-tests you can perform to determine your pelvic floor status: loose as a goose, pelvic floor goddess, or somewhere in between.

In addition, we offer detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do a correct pelvic floor contraction, or Kegel. We also “troubleshoot” the problem areas most women have while doing Kegels, ensuring that you are engaging the right pelvic muscles during a Kegel.

Easy as pie … To download this free ebook written especially for women’s pelvic floor health, just visit our download page:

Download the Ebook Here

By downloading the ebook you are taking the first step to becoming a pelvic floor goddess! Plus, we’ll keep you informed of any new women’s health and pelvic floor resources we develop just for you.

New Moms and Kegels: Myths and Facts

by General Urinary IncontinencePelvic Floor WeaknessWomen's Healthcare

Kegel Facts
Here are some statistics you might not know about pregnant and post-partum women:

  • About 30% of post-partum women are affected by urinary incontinence (UI)
  • Kegels, done correctly, help 80% of women suffering from UI
  • 46% of pregnant women reported receiving no information about Kegels in one study (International Urogynecology Journal, January 2006)
  • 50% of women cannot locate the correct pelvic muscles to do a Kegel with just verbal or written instructions

Knowing these facts, is it any wonder that many new moms either don’t know about Kegels or don’t know how to do Kegels correctly?

Kegel Myths
Kegels Don’t Work
One popular myth among new mothers is that Kegels don’t work, meaning they don’t help with symptoms of pelvic floor weakness, like urinary incontinence or decreased sexual sensation. This myth is prevalent because many post-partum women are not given enough guidance to locate the right pelvic muscles to do a correct Kegel.

Says Sarah Hamilton Boyles, a urogynecologist and research director for the Providence Continence Center, “They’re hard muscles to engage. It’s not like flexing your biceps.” Many women tighten their inner thighs or buttocks rather than their pelvic floor muscles, and need “hands on” help to locate the correct muscles. Experts add that many women simply forget to do their Kegels consistently, leading to less than spectacular results.

Tip: If you are not getting good results from doing Kegels, consider asking for some “hands on” help from your obstetrician/gynecologist.

Kegels Hinder Labor and Delivery
Another myth is that over-toning the pelvic floor muscles by doing Kegels during pregnancy makes the pelvic floor too strong and less elastic, making labor and delivery more difficult.

A Norwegian study reported in the Journal Obstetrics & Gynecology debunks this myth. Women who did Kegel exercises three times a week by the 30th week of pregnancy had lower rates of severe tearing during childbirth, unplanned Cesarean sections, and deliveries requiring forceps or a vacuum.

In fact, a study done at Trondheim University Hospital in England indicated that women who did pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy experienced fewer instances of prolonged second-stage labor that lasted more than an hour. Other studies show that women who did Kegels during pregnancy also experienced fewer UI symptoms post-partum.

Tip: If you are pregnant, start doing Kegels now. Also consider doing perineal massage. If you are not sure how to do these, ask for help from your obstetrician/gynecologist. Remember, 50% of women cannot correctly isolate the correct pelvic muscles to do a Kegel with just written or verbal instruction, so get “hands on” help if necessary.