How to do kegels, or not?!
Kegels?
To “do kegels” or “not do kegels” is the big question! It depends on your concerns of course, but in a lot of cases I wouldn’t worry about them because there are so many other ways to functionally strengthen your pelvic floor that benefit your whole body. However, understand how to do them correctly because most do not! A kegel is a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. I find that most patients connect with thinking of how a jelly fish swims. Imagine it lifting upwards and it’s tentacles gathering together-now try that motion! The goal is to be able to lift and hold the front, middle, and back of your pelvic floor (pee hole to booty hole).
Core
This is my favorite thing to help people connect with and restore, especially postpartum! Your core has 4 layers of different muscles, all with different actions. The transverse abdominus is the deepest muscle layer of our core and is the one that most people are unfamiliar with connecting to! Studies have shown TA fascial connections directly into the pelvic floor- the two work together as stabilizers!
Gluts
The strength of our gluts are so important because they give counterbalance support to our pelvic floor muscles, which affects how everything functions. We especially want to emphasize training our single leg booty strength! Self test: Can you stand up on a single leg out of your living room chair? Try it, I dare you!
Exercises that activate your pelvic floor..
Your pelvic floor never works in isolation-which is why I believe your rehab should be full body. Check out how much more pelvic floor recruitment these exercises get compared to doing an isolated kegel! These percentages are taken from a study, where they tested this!
-Squats, 30% more
-All Fours hover, 49% more
-Clam shell, 25% more
