Do you have a “knee-jerk” reaction when you sneeze or cough? Do you often feel like you are not fully emptying your bladder? Have difficulty with bowel movements, experiencing constipation and/or straining during urination? If so, it is possible that your pelvic floor muscles are weak. You may need to do some exercises to strengthen these muscles.
The following post will give 5 exercises that can help build the strength of pelvic floor muscles:
1) Kegels
Kegels are performed by contracting the pelvic floor muscle for 10 seconds and then releasing it. You can do these exercises in any position, sitting, standing or laying down.
2) Cat Stretch
To perform this stretch you’ll first kneel on your hands and knees with your head down. Next, you will press your hands into the ground and round your spine up off of the ground like a cat until you feel a slight stretch in your low back. Hold this position for a few breaths before lowering yourself back onto the ground by rounding your back like a cow.
3) Side plank
A side plank is an exercise where you lie on your side, hold your body up by placing one hand at the edge of the mat (or ground) and stretching the other arm overhead.
4) Bird Dog
The bird dog exercise strengthens your back and core muscles, encourages a neutral spine position, and relieves low-back pain.
5) Bridge
Squeeze your glutes and abs, then lift up your hips so that you are in a straight line from knees to shoulders. Hold for two seconds, then slowly lower back down to the floor while contracting your glutes and abs.
If you’ve struggled with bladder leakage, it’s possible that your pelvic floor muscles are weak. When the pelvic floor muscles become weakened or overstretched they can lead to incontinence. Fortunately, these exercises listed above can help strengthen your pelvic floor so as not to experience any more bladder leaks!
