why kegels may not be good for a tight pelvic floor

“Kegels,” also known as a pelvic floor exercise, targets the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder, uterus in women, prostate in men, and rectum. This involves contracting and tightening the pelvic floor muscles repeatedly. 

You may be thinking “shouldn’t I be strengthening my pelvic floor muscles instead of relaxing and stretching them?”

I’ll let you in on a little secret: it is JUST as important to relax them!

Oftentimes, we tense up those muscles throughout the day and we might not even realize it. Throughout pregnancy, the muscles in the pelvic floor work harder to support the growing baby and as a result become overactive and tense. The tensing shortens the muscles and that leads to decreased strength over time. Muscles do not like to be tight/short or overstretched, there needs to be a balance. Imagine your biceps are sore and tense and you’re doing more bicep curls on top of that. Like all of your other muscles, the pelvic floor muscles need to be able to relax and lengthen for optimal strength & function. 

Some common symptoms of a hypertonic/overactive pelvic floor:

1. Urinating often or feeling like your bladder is never fully emptied 

2. Urinary leakage or incontinence 

3. Pain with sex or with insertion of tampon 

4. Constipation/Diarrhea 

5. Pelvic pain 

“Letting Go” Exercises to Help Relax a Tight Pelvic Floor: 

Diaphragmatic Breathing

1. Start by laying on your back with your knees bent and a pillow under your knees, or sitting up in a chair. 

2. Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly.

3. Inhale through your nose for about 4 seconds, while feeling a slight rise in your chest, and your rib cage and belly expanding. You should also be able to feel your pelvic floor muscles open and lengthen (the feeling when you are letting urine or gas out)

4. Exhale through pursed lips for about 6 seconds, relaxing your ribs, belly and pelvic floor.

5. Pause for about 2 seconds before repeating. Perform about 10-15 repetitions daily.

Thigh Press

1. Lie down on your back with your head resting on a pillow, knees bent.

2. Lift your lower legs until they are straight out in front of you, parallel to the floor. 

3. Place hands on your thighs and let your thighs resist the pressure. 

4. Hold the two-way pressure for about 5 seconds, then relax and repeat 10 times twice daily.

Deep Squat

1. Stand with legs apart. Keeping your back neutral, squat down until your butt is about 3-5 inches off the floor (use a yoga block if you have trouble with this movement).

2. Relax into the squat and take 6-8 deep breaths focusing on dropping the pelvic floor muscles. Perform twice daily. 

Child’s Pose with Hip Internal Rotation:

1. Start by kneeling on the floor and bring your shin and foot on both legs outward.

2. Exhale and fold forward, laying your torso down between your thighs. 

3. Perform 6-8 deep breaths in this position twice daily.

Hip Internal Rotation Stretch (Windshield Wipers):

1. Start sitting on the floor, with knees bent, feet splayed wider than hip-width apart (feel free to experiment taking the feet wider, narrower, closer to your butt, farther away from your butt…)

2. Keeping both feet on the floor and both butt cheeks on the floor, flop your knees over to one side. Just let them fall as far as is comfortable, you don’t have to push it and they don’t have to touch the floor.

3. Then flop your knees over to the other side.

4. Continue “windshield wiper-ing” your knees side to side for 5-10 reps.

Hope this gives you some helpful tips to try as alternatives to kegels! Have a question or want more specific tips for you? Shoot us an email!