Improve your Pelvic Floor Muscles

Remember that one Friends episode when Monica said, “He had me laughing so hard, I swear, a little pee came out.” it is not just Monica who said this; in fact, it is a very common expression among women. We think peeing our pants by laughing so hard is such a normal thing to say that it must be a common thing to do but this can also signify weakening pelvic floor muscles that lead to loss of bladder control. No, don’t start worrying yet. There are ways you can strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. But first, let’s begin by asking what pelvic floor muscles are?

What are Pelvic Floor Muscles?

The pelvic floor muscles hold your uterus, bladder, bowel, and other pelvic organs. It is a sling or a hammock-like group of tissues across your pelvis. These muscles can get weaker with childbirth and as you age. You may notice tampons dislodging or falling out, releasing wind while bending or lifting things, urine coming out a little while coughing, sneezing, or laughing, these are signs of weakened pelvic floor muscles. Therefore it is essential to strengthen them with exercise, treatments, or other surgical ways so you can laugh as hard as you want without peeing at all.

How to strengthen pelvic floor muscles?

You can improve the strength of your pelvic floor muscles and reduce symptoms of pelvic floor weakness by:

• losing excess body fat

• preventing constipation by including more fruit, vegetables, fiber, and water in your daily diet

• Seeking medical attention for a chronic cough.

1. Diet-

The first and most crucial step to improve your pelvic floor strength is to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Changes in your eating habits will have a significant impact on your overall health. With a strict diet, your pelvic floor will become stronger. In addition, you must consume estrogen-rich foods such as pomegranates, soybeans, carrots, apples, berries, and so forth if you strengthen your inner muscles. A diet can go a long way to prevent constipation and allow healthy bowel movements as well.

2. Pelvic floor exercises

Kegel exercises are basic clench-and-release exercises that can help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Once you've figured out how to practice Kegel exercises, you can do them whenever and wherever you want - at home or in line at the bank. To begin, Kegel exercises:

• Ensure your bladder is empty before sitting or lying down.

• Next, tighten the muscles in your pelvic floor.

• Hold for 3 to 5 seconds.

• And then count 3 to 5 seconds while relaxing the muscles.

• Repeat ten times and do this three times in a day.

Biofeedback

It may be difficult for some to isolate their pelvic floor muscles in order to complete the exercises. Using various feedback systems, specialized physical therapists can assist.

A biofeedback device is one example. The physical therapist applies sticky electrodes to certain parts of the body and instructs the patient to contract their pelvic floor muscles. The electrodes give signals to a computer, which allows the therapist to determine whether or not the person is contracting the correct muscles.

In some cases, nerve injury can make it difficult for a person to activate their pelvic floor muscles on their own.

A specialized physical therapist may recommend pelvic stimulation therapy in this scenario, which can assist the person make the proper muscle contractions.

Vaginal cones

You can also use a vaginal cone to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. This is a tampon-sized, weighted device that you place in your vagina and hold. A single cone is placed into the vagina and maintained in place for up to 15 minutes by tightening the levator ani muscles. The time of the exercise can be raised to 30 minutes as the levator ani muscles become stronger.

The sensory feedback for the desired pelvic muscle contraction is provided by the intravaginal weight. The pelvic floor muscles become stronger as a result of the persistent contraction required to keep the weight within the vagina. This exercise should be done twice a day. When standard pelvic muscle workouts (e.g., Kegel exercises) are combined with intravaginal weights you will be able to see the best results.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)

NMES uses a probe to send an electric current into your pelvic floor, which can help strengthen your vaginal muscles. Your pelvic floor muscles will contract and relax as a result of the electrical stimulation.

You can utilize a home NMES unit or have the treatment done by your doctor. A typical session is 20-minutes long. For the first few weeks, you should try doing this once every four days.

To Conclude

It could take weeks or months before you notice a significant difference in your pelvic floor muscle strength. However, in some circumstances, pelvic floor exercises may not be enough to fix the problem, and additional medical therapy may be required. Treatments like laser vaginal tightening can also help with strengthening pelvic floor muscles. Problems like severe incontinence or weakened pelvic floor muscles wherein there are chances of vaginal or uterine prolapse can also be treated with vaginoplasty. Check-in and contact Pristyn Care for expert medical advice and get the right consultation for your condition.