Kegel exercises.

The Kegel gymnastics exercises, now famous throughout the world, were developed by an American gynecologist named Arnold Kegel in the mid-20th century. Initially they were intended exclusively for the treatment of sick womensuffering from urinary and fecal incontinence, uterine prolapse and other ailments of the genitourinary system. Subsequently, it turned out that these therapeutic procedures are useful not only for patients, but also for healthy women, as a preventive measure for the above ailments, as well as for improving the quality of sexual life and increasing the tone of the pelvic floor muscles.

The pelvic floor muscles are responsible for supporting all organs pelvis, creating something like a hammock in the lower region of the body - the so-called pelvic diaphragm. That is why this muscle group experiences continuous pressure from almost all pelvic organs. All this is directly related to such a physiological feature of our body as human upright posture.

As you understand, this muscle group is of great importance in our body, but on the other hand, all of the above muscles, except for this main function, are actually not involved in any way in our normal daily life. Therefore, if they are not given special training, they may weaken and quite possibly will not even be able to effectively withstand the internal pressure of our internal organs on them. As a result of such pressure, all sorts of diseases can develop, such as prolapse of internal organs (in women most often: the vagina and uterus), urinary incontinence, and functional disorders of the gastrointestinal system.

In addition, the pelvic floor muscle group can undoubtedly be called muscles sexual pleasure, since it is this group that affects the smoothness and elasticity of the vaginal walls, as well as its volume and quality of blood supply. And with proper training of the pelvic floor muscles, blood flow to the internal tissues and all pelvic organs significantly increases, which significantly improves their tissue structure and muscle tone.

1. The meaning of the Kegel technique.
2. What kind of muscles are these?
3. How to start training using the Arnold Kegel system?
4. Variations of Kegel exercises.

The meaning of the Kegel technique.

Exercises using the Kegel system should be performed by absolutely all girls and women of almost any age, without exception, since they contribute to:

1. I) prevention of constipation, as well as urinary incontinence;
2. II) prevention of all kinds of prolapse of internal organs,
3. III) increased sexual desire and increased satisfaction for both partners;
4. IV) rapid achievement of orgasm and significantly brighter internal sensations during it;
5. V) prevention of various ruptures during childbirth and, in general, facilitating the process of childbirth.

At the moment, there are countless different interpretations of Kegel exercises, but the most important thing for you is to understand the essence of this technique.

In fact, in the pelvic floor area of ​​the human body, there are only two muscles that we can consciously control - contract and relax at our own will. All other muscles, of which, as you understand, there are also a lot, are not subject to the efforts of our will, and in view of this, they are not actually involved in this technique.

What kind of muscles are these?

So-called, bulbocavernosus muscle a kind of loop covers our urethra (or in other words, the urethra) and the entrance to the woman’s vagina. When it is compressed, the urethral sphincter contracts like a valve, blocking its lumen. The anterior wall of the perineum directly at the entrance to the vagina also contracts.

The second muscle lifts the anus (levator) is a flat, dome-shaped muscle located on the lateral as well as the posterior portion of the pelvic diaphragm. It is responsible for voluntary compression of the anus, as well as its pulling upward. And indirectly also for compression of the posterior and lateral vaginal walls in the lower region at a greater or lesser distance - this already depends on the individual physiological characteristics, as well as the level of training of this muscle. It is much larger compared to the bulbous-cavernous one. It is for this reason that the back wall of the vagina invariably contracts more than the front wall.

It is worth noting that both of these muscles are located in the lower part of the vagina, the rest of it includes only the so-called smooth muscles, which are actually impossible to consciously control. It is for this reason that the phrase “make an elevator"(the most difficult of the Kegel exercises) only due to the gradual contraction and relaxation of muscles located at different levels of the vagina, in practice it loses its meaning and, one might say, is impracticable for practical use. In fact, contraction of the upper part of the vagina is only possible due to increased intra-abdominal pressure (or straining) and is also available for use in training, but exclusively at an “advanced” level, at a time when all the pelvic floor muscles we mentioned above have already been largely trained . Otherwise, excessive straining can, on the contrary, lead to a completely opposite result - prolapse of your internal organs, which results from increased intra-abdominal pressure.

Before you start your training, you need to find these same muscles in yourself and, what is not unimportant, understand how, in principle, we can influence them and to what extent.

To calculate our first muscle (bulbocavernosus), interruption of the act of urination is used. Simply put, you need, while sitting on the toilet, to stop the stream (the process of urination) with just an intramuscular contraction. In this case, it is extremely important to breathe calmly and correctly (belly breathing), and try not to use third-party muscles in this process:

1. I) abdominal press,
2. II) buttocks,
3. III) hips,
4. IV) and others...

So, first you need to practice well when going to the toilet every day, stopping and resuming the stream. Consider this your first exercise included in Kegel gymnastics - it rightfully is. When you clearly understand what needs to be done to compress and relax this muscle, when you feel it well, you can safely proceed to the next exercises - training without urinating.

For the most part, when the bulbocavernosus muscle we found above contracts, our second muscle: the levator will automatically begin to contract.

As an option for beginners, you can simply squeeze/relax the anus. Subsequently, you need to learn to pull your anus up. If in the early stages of training you cannot understand whether you are performing the exercises correctly, you can check this as follows: insert a lubricated finger into your rectum and strain the levator with it. With the correct technique, you should feel compression and, accordingly, tightening of the anus. It is also possible to determine the effectiveness of this muscle with a finger inserted into the vagina. During the correct operation of the levator, you will feel a contraction of a) the posterior and b) lateral walls of your vagina.

For technically competent training of the pelvic floor muscles, it is necessary to simultaneously strain both of these muscles: a) bulbocavernosus and b) levator ani. If you have prolapse of the internal organs, at an early stage it is not recommended to use the abdominal muscles, back muscles and buttocks during training, since this will create increased additional pressure on your pelvic diaphragm, which is already weakened by the disease. In addition, the key goal of the technique is to actually strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, and the involvement of other larger muscle groups will largely distract your attention from the main goal.

For physical training of the pelvic floor muscles, contraction of the above muscles in different rhythms is used. For example:

1. Quick alternate compression and relaxation of key muscles for 10 seconds, followed by a light rest for 10 seconds. Perform 3 sets and then rest for 30 seconds.
2. Alternate long compressions and long muscle relaxations for 5 seconds, then rest for 5 seconds. Carry out 10 such cycles.
3. Very slow contraction of the muscles and holding them in a compressed state for 30 seconds and, accordingly, a pause of 30 seconds. These are 3 cycles.
4. Repeat exercise 1.

This is an example exercise. The main task - a combination of quick compressions and releases target muscles with slow ones. Kegel exercises involve regular exercise. Experts recommend performing at least four approaches per day. The daily number of muscle contractions in different rhythms must be increased over time to 300. In this case, a particularly important point is the correct technique performing exercises. It is this that ensures the effectiveness of the entire workout.

You can also use it to increase the effectiveness of your training. special devices, allowing you to clearly assess the effectiveness of your muscle contraction. One of the first such devices was invented by Kegel himself.perineometer" It makes it possible to objectively (in numbers) evaluate the force developed by contractions of the muscles of your pelvic floor.

In addition, with regular use of such a device, you can clearly evaluate dynamics of the result, reflected in an increase in the strength of your muscle tension against the backdrop of constant training. And the understanding that your classes are not in vain, of course, increases interest in their further use. Currently there are also various simulators and even whole complexes for training the pelvic floor muscles.