In this guide we’ll cover what pelvic floor muscles are, who should and should not perform pelvic floor exercises, how to do them, and how long you can expect until you see results.
What Are Pelvic Floor Muscles?
The pelvic floor is made of a ‘sling’ of muscles that line the bottom of the pelvis. These muscles control the bladder and bowels, as well as the uterus in women.
When your pelvic floor muscles are active and healthy, they keep urine and waste inside the body until the brain signals that it's time for release.
Kegel Exercises Strengthen What Muscles?
Performing pelvic floor exercises, otherwise known as Kegels, can really help to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
The pelvic floor is much like any muscle in our body - we go to a gym to work on the muscles in our arms, legs, stomachs and buttocks, but we neglect the pelvic floor muscles! It’s just as important to exercise our pelvic floor as it is any of our other muscles, especially as we get older.
If your pelvic floor muscles are not at their full strength, you may experience some or all of the following:
- Leaking urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing or running
- Failing to reach the restroom in time
- Passing wind from either the anus or vagina when bending over or lifting
- Reduced sensation in the vagina
Why Might You Want to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles?
If you are experiencing urine leakage when coughing, sneezing, laughing or running, failing to reach the restroom in time after a sudden urge to pee or you’re finding that you’re passing wind from the anus or vagina when bending or lifting - pelvic floor exercises could be super effective with helping you to gain control of this.
In addition to this, women who want to improve their sex life or want to gain control of their incontinence after giving birth may want to incorporate pelvic floor exercises into their lives.
Women wanting to improve their sex life
Doing Kegels can improve your sex life because Kegels improve blood circulation to the pelvic floor and vagina, which can be helpful for arousal and lubrication.
Women who have given birth
It is completely normal that during pregnancy and birth, the pelvic floor muscles become stretched and weakened. This is part of the way a woman’s body adapts for a baby to pass out of the vagina. However, many women find that they experience incontinence as a result of giving birth.
You can begin strengthening your pelvic floor again straight after giving birth, as soon as you feel comfortable doing so – it’s completely safe to do and can help make a difference to how quickly your pelvic floor muscles can recover after having your baby.
Who should avoid strengthening their pelvic floor muscles?
While pelvic floor exercises can be great for some, there are some situations where Kegels are not suitable for your body, such as if your pelvic floor is already too tight or if your pelvic floor is severely damaged.
How to strengthen the pelvic floor
There are a variety of different ways that women can strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, including manual Kegels, invasive Kegel exercisers, non-invasive devices and surgery.
Manual Kegel exercises
This involves doing a series of exercises where you must contract and relax your pelvic floor muscles repetitively and over a long period of time. Kegel exercises can be effective for many women, but the downside to this method is that the results take a long time to show and can be dangerous if not performed correctly.
Invasive Kegel exercisers
There are a variety of invasive Kegel exercisers available on the market such as Kegel balls and other such devices that are inserted into the vagina. These types of products can be very uncomfortable and many women therefore like to opt for the final option - non invasive Kegel exercisers.
Non-invasive Kegel exercisers
Non-invasive Kegel exercisers like INNOVO do not require any insertion into the vagina and are one of the safest ways to ensure your Kegel exercises are performed correctly and with no discomfort.
How Long Does it Take to Strengthen the Pelvic Floor?
According to MedlinePlus, after 4 to 6 weeks, most people notice some improvement to their pelvic floor muscles after doing pelvic floor exercises.
However, it could take up to 3 months to see a noticeable change. For best results, after a couple of weeks, you could also try doing a single pelvic floor contraction at times when you are likely to leak (for example, while getting out of a chair or heavy lifting).
Taking time out of your day to manually perform these exercises can be tiresome and human error can lead to inconsistencies. With INNOVO, our FDA-cleared and non-invasive solution, you simply have to wear our shorts and relax for 30 minutes for five days a week over a period of four weeks to notice your pelvic floor getting stronger.
How to Strengthen Pelvic Floor Muscles Quickly
Manually performing Kegels to strengthen your pelvic floor is a long process and takes a lot of dedication.
Invasive solutions can be uncomfortable and surgery is an extreme measure. Therefore, the best solution for most women is INNOVO - a non-invasive pelvic floor exerciser that does your pelvic floor exercises for you - perfectly.
INNOVO believes the best (and quickest) way to ensure you are doing your pelvic floor exercises properly so that you can enjoy great results, is to have them done for you! INNOVO delivers perfect Kegels every time, so you don’t have to worry about whether you’re doing them correctly.
Using INNOVO for just 30 minutes a day/five days a week over 12 weeks has been proven to treat bladder weakness - delivering results in as little as 4 weeks.
INNOVO treats stress incontinence in women of all ages, and is the only non-invasive pelvic floor exerciser that targets the root cause of the problem. Best of all? It actually works.