Are Kegals Making Your Symptoms Worse?

If you struggle with leaking (incontinence), then chances are, like most women, you have been told to do the 'kegal exercise' whenever you can...at the traffic lights, while breastfeeding or waiting for the kettle to boil.

**Incase you don't know...a kegal is a contraction of your pelvic floor muscles (like you are stopping yourself mid-stream on the toilet).

But for some women, doing lots of kegals can actually be making symptoms worse...is this you?

There are a few different reasons why this happens, but today I want to talk about...

PELVIC FLOOR TIGHTNESS (Hypertonic pelvic floor)

Yes this is really a problem!  If a muscle is already short & tight, you cannot build strength.  So first you need to learn how to RELAX your pelvic floor, before beginning strength work.

It's kind of like trying to teach a toddler a lesson in the middle of a tantrum....it doesn't work!  You have to wait for them to calm down (ie muscle to relax & lengthen), before you can teach the lesson (build strength).

How do I know if I have a tight pelvic floor?

When assessing a new client, these are some red flags for pelvic floor tightness I'm looking out for...

• Painful sex or difficulty with arousal
• Jaw tension
• Pelvic, hip or tailbone pain
• Problems with pooping
• Need to pee 'just in case' and often need to push it out to completely empty
• Being hyper-mobile - your PF needs to overwork to compensate for instability around the other joints of the pelvis
• Poor stress management & sleep

Sound like you??  I will be addressing this and so much more in my upcoming 'Pelvic Floor & Core Foundations Program', so if you haven't already, make sure you get your name on the waitlist!!  (launch date to be announced soon).