Pelvic floor exercises are very simple and easy to conduct throughout the day. They can be done whilst working, sitting at a set of travel lights, laying down or even standing.
The best way to identify the pelvic floor muscles is to pretend you need to stop the flow of urine and hold in flatus (wind) at the same time.
- Relax the muscles of your thighs, bottom and tummy.
- Squeeze in the muscles around the front passage as if trying to stop the flow of urine.
- Squeeze in the muscles around the vagina and suck upwards inside the pelvic.
- Squeeze in the muscles around the back passage as if trying to stop passing wind.
- The muscles around the front and back passages should squeeze up and inside the pelvis.
- Identify the muscles that contract when you do all these things together. Then relax and loosen them.
It is best to hold each pelvic floor exercise for 10 seconds, before relaxing the muscles again. This should be performed for up to 10 repetitions, each day.
If bladder leakage (incontinence) is already an issue, it is best to seek professional assistance from a physiotherapist, so they can tailor make pelvic floor exercises, to suit your individual needs.