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Is your pelvic floor letting you down?
Stress incontinence affects 1 in 5 women Urinary incontinence, or lack of bladder control, affects millions of women of all ages but especially new mums and those passing through, and beyond, the menopause. Stress incontinence, in particular, is most often caused by stretching of the muscles during childbirth, by a natural loss of muscle tone due to a lack of oestrogen after menopause, and laziness. The impact of unexpected urine loss when you sneeze, cough, laugh or undertake even gentle exercise can be highly embarrassing and socially devastating. It can lead to increased infections, social withdrawal and depression. Many women are aware of the need for pelvic floor exercises but few carry them out regularly and effectively. Like any muscle, the pelvic floor becomes slack and ineffective without exercise, but there is overwhelming clinical evidence of the value of effective pelvic floor exercises. 8 out of 10 cases of stress incontinence can be cured simply with an exercise program. Pelvic floor muscle exercises were effectively invented in the late 1940s by the American obstetrician Arnold Kegel. Kegel made three very clear recommendations for his 'Kegel' exercise programme.
Unfortunately few women are taught these principles and even fewer practice them! Strong pelvic floor muscles can dramatically improve your sex life! On a much more positive note, there are also very real benefits associated with a healthy and well-toned pelvic floor. “Observations
in [more than 3,000 women,] both parous (child-bearing) and nulliparous
(non-child-bearing)..., ranging in age from 16 to 74 years, have led to
the conclusion that sexual feeling within the vagina is closely related to
muscle tone, and can be improved through muscle education and resistive
exercise." There is strong evidence that as many as 9 out of 10 women have never experienced a vaginal orgasm and, as Kegel asserted, this could essentially be due to a lack of pelvic floor muscle tone and a lack of intimate contact and stimulation between partners. With the knowledge that daily pelvic floor exercising can bring real sex benefits, it must be hoped that women will be motivated to exercise frequently and effectively. Our section on 'sexercises' makes very interesting reading and explains the role of pelvic floor exercises in ancient Chinese and Indian cultures, in yoga and in the practice of tantric sex. Over 50,000 women in the UK have purchased a PelvicToner In the final analysis, there is no doubt that pelvic floor exercises cannot be practiced effectively in isolation and there is overwhelming evidence that women will benefit greatly from using a progressive resistance vaginal exerciser. Fortunately such a device exists and users of the PelvicToner report exceptional results.
For more details click
Dr Sarah Brewer, renowned sex health expert and Medical Director of The Academy of Sex and Relationships says:
In many ways, we have failed women ever since by not telling them how to do these exercises correctly. The secret – as identified by Kegel – is to improve muscle tone by exercising against resistance. People understand that to improve muscle it’s no good just lifting our arms in the air – no matter how many repetitions we do. We have to introduce some form of resistance to get good results, and it’s the same with pelvic floor exercise. Encouraging women to squeeze repeatedly when sat on the bus or to use devices that do not offer resistance, means many women are wasting their time and increasing their sense of frustration. Strengthening the female pelvic floor muscles tightens the vaginal embrace, increasing friction and pleasure during love-making, which benefits both partners. Clinical research shows the PelvicToner increases the strength of pelvic floor exercises by 28%, and improves resting pelvic muscle tone by almost 10%. As a result, four out of five women report increased sexual satisfaction." For details of other clinical research click here For women who are not prepared to exercise there are a number of options but unfortunately they come at a price. Clinical research has raised doubts about the value of vaginal cones or weights and electro-stimulation. Electro-stimulation may benefit the lazy and those without any awareness of their pelvic floor and no ability to squeeze it at will. Cones are purely passive and many women are just unable to retain them. The new Incostress adopts a totally new approach. Like cones, it is inserted into the vagina. But all similarity ends there. The Incostress works by physically supporting the bladder and applying a gentle pressure to the urethra. Clinical studies are very positive and the benefits are immediate.For more details click For those who prefer a medical intervention there are over 150 surgical procedures for incontinence. Don't be selfish! |
