Kegel exercise
contracting and relaxing the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor
Kegel exercise, also known as pelvic floor exercise, involves repeatedly contracting and relaxing the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor, also sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Kegel muscles". The exercise can be performed many times a day, for several minutes at a time, but takes one to three months to begin to have an effect.
Kegel exercises aim to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles have many functions within the human body. In women, they are responsible for holding up the bladder, preventing urinary stress incontinence (especially after childbirth), vaginal and uterine prolapse. In men, these muscles are responsible for urinary continence, fecal continence, and ejaculation. Several tools exist to help with these exercises, although various studies debate the relative effectiveness of different tools versus traditional exercises.
The American gynecologist Arnold Kegel published a description of such exercises in 1948, but they had previously been published in 1936 by a woman, Margaret Morris, who was given little credit at the time.
Mechanism of action
Kegel exercises aim to improve muscle tone by strengthening the pubococcygeus muscles of the pelvic floor. Kegel exercises are commonly prescribed for pregnant women to prepare the pelvic floor for physiological stresses of the later stages of pregnancy and childbirth.
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