Kegel exercises for urinary incontinence.

The main method of non-medicinal and non-surgical Treatment of urinary incontinence, both mild, drip-type, and more serious forms of this disease, are exercises developed by the American doctor A. Kegel to strengthen the muscle group of the pelvic floor area.

For example, noticeable improvements were recorded in approximately 70% of observed patients who came face to face with stress incontinence. Well, let's talk about mild forms of this disease... Such a positive effect is achieved as a result of targeted, narrowly focused training and strengthening of the muscles responsible for maintaining the bladder. But, it is important to understand the most important thing: in order to achieve a truly tangible result, you need to work regularly, without actually taking any breaks in your training.

How to properly do exercises to train the pelvic floor muscles if you have problems with urinary incontinence?

The set of classes we offer includes exercises that make it possible to prevent urinary incontinence, mainly mild and drip forms, or to significantly reduce the degree of its manifestation, both in women and in the male half of the population. It is believed that such involuntary drip of urine in women is often associated with pregnancy and childbirth in their lives. And in men, this is often a congenital problem, or acquired as a result of chronic diseases or previous inflammatory processes and operations. All these ailments can be prevented by regularly performing the set of special training presented below.

It includes exercises of varying difficulty levels. In fact, all of them are aimed at strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. They need to be performed systematically and regularly, gradually increasing the load level and duration. The proposed procedures are equally productive for representatives of both sexes.

Let's list the main movements that make up Kegel exercises:

Compression at different speeds. This type of physical impact involves cyclic tension of the muscles that we use to stop the process of urination. Usually you need to contract them, then, after counting to three, relax. At the moment of relaxation, you can also count to three and then begin to tense again. Having gained some experience, you can increase the working time of muscle contraction to 5-25 seconds.

Pushing movements. Kegel exercises for urinary incontinence are characterized by tension in those muscle groups that are involved when a person strains. For women, this procedure will be similar to pushing during childbirth or defecation. For men, it is necessary to push, as when interrupting the act of urination or, similarly to women, bowel movements.

All these procedures must be started gradually. At first, try doing slow compressions of ten repetitions about five times a day. Immediately after you have thoroughly mastered the easiest level of Kegel exercises with uncontrolled urine output, you can move on to more labor-intensive activities. Also, after a week of continuously doing the above exercises, approximately five repetitions should be added to each set. And so on until their number reaches 30. Once this is achieved, you need to do 150 exercises every day to properly maintain the tone of the pelvic muscles. At the same time as you increase the number of repetitions, you can move on to push-ups and contractions.

A technically much more complex form of the previously discussed “squeezing” exercise is the so-called “elevator ride.” When performing it, a person smoothly progressively compresses the muscles of the perineum. First, with a small degree of force (“1st floor”), then, without relaxing them for a second, he squeezes even harder (“2nd floor”), then again and again... And so on until the maximum possible degree of tension. At the same time, on each floor it is necessary to maintain a tense state for about 3-5 seconds, after which, without slowing down the effort for a moment, the next even more complex (high) “floor” follows, on which the degree of tension, as you understand, is even higher. more increases, and so on. Having reached the limiting (4th – 7th) “floor”, a reverse smooth “descent” begins - a downward movement: from strong tension with a long duration to a less powerful and shorter compression. And so on until complete relaxation.

1. Standing upright, feet shoulder-width apart, palms supporting the buttocks. Next, tighten your pelvic floor muscles. The angle of impact should be directed: upward/inward.
2. Standing on your knees (pose on all fours). Next, tighten your pelvic muscles in an upward/inward direction.
3. Lying on your stomach, with one of your legs bent at the knee joint. Perform alternate compression and relaxation of the target pelvic muscles.
4. Lying on your back, your legs are completely bent at the knees and slightly apart, and your heels are resting on the floor. The left hand holds the lower abdomen, the right hand under the buttock. This way we can feel that the muscles we need are involved. Squeeze the pelvic muscles, pulling them up.
5. Sitting with your legs crossed and your back straight. We strain the pelvic floor muscles in the same way as in previous variations.
6. Feet are shoulder-width apart, hands are rested on the knees. Keep your back straight and tense the target muscles in an upward/inward direction.

Generally speaking, the above poses are presented here purely conditionally, as a possible example. You can use them when you are at home, in a comfortable environment, and no one bothers you. In general, this technique was initially does not have certain clear poses and positions, - You can train while lying down, sitting or standing. The main thing is that you feel comfortable and comfortable. It also requires a certain focus and concentration on the actions being performed, and ideally, when no one bothers you or distracts you. If during the process you encounter any difficulties or problems, for example, of a technical nature, consult your doctor.

Exercise according to Arnold Kegel's system, and tangible results won’t take too long to arrive! The main thing is perseverance, consistency and regularity, and you will succeed!