Pelvic Floor Exercises

Disclaimer: Always consult a health professional before undertaking these exercises.

While doing the exercises:

• DO NOT hold your breath
• DO NOT push down instead of squeezing and lifting up
• DO NOT tighten your tummy, buttocks or thighs

Keep At it! It can take weeks or months to notice a difference but its worth it.

Step 2 - Performing Pelvic Floor Exercises

Now that you can feel the muscles working, you can start to exercise them:

• Tighten and draw in strongly the muscles around the anus and the urethra all at once. Lift them up inside. Try and hold this contraction strongly as you count to five, then release slowly and relax for a few seconds. You should have a definite feeling of "letting go".
• Repeat ("squeeze and lift") and relax. It is important to rest in between each contraction. If you find it easy to hold the contraction for a count of five, try to hold for longer - up to ten seconds.
• Repeat this as many times as you are able up to a maximum of 8-10 squeezes. Make each tightening a strong, slow and controlled contraction.
• Now do five to ten short, fast, but strong contractions, pulling up and immediately letting go.
• Do this whole exercise routine at least 4-5 times every day. You can do it in a variety of positions - lying, sitting, standing, walking.

The quality of your exercise is important so concentrate on what you're doing and remember that fewer good exercises will be more beneficial than many half-hearted ones.

Other ways to help yourself

Exercise can make a huge difference but there are also commercial products that are available and we have a page dedicated to other tips that may help.

Seeking Help

To achieve your best results or if your problems persist despite doing the exercises, you may need to seek help professional help from your GP, a physiotherapist or a specialist continence nurse