The Importance of Daily Pelvic Floor Exercises

Every Woman Should Be Doing Them

Pelvic floor exercises should be part of a woman's daily routine. They are simple to do and can be performed anywhere. Discover the benefits of greater bladder and bowel control, plus increased sexual awareness during lovemaking. You don’t need to be pregnant or have children to benefit.

What is the Pelvic Floor?

The ‘pelvic floor’ is a hammock of muscles that stretch across the floor of our pelvis. These muscles support our pelvic organs and play an important role in both bladder and bowel control. Both pregnancy and childbirth have a detrimental impact on our pelvic floor muscles, as does excessive weight gain and aging. Hormonal changes in a woman’s body can also impact on our pelvic floor control, hence the need for daily pelvic floor exercises especially during and after pregnancy.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Simple yet Effective Pelvic Floor Exercise:

• Squeeze your vaginal and anal muscles at the same time, lifting as though you are drawing the pelvic floor upwards internally. This will have a similar sensation to holding on when needing to go to the toilet.
• Hold this for 5 seconds, then release & relax.
• Repeat 10 times, have a break, then repeat another 10 times.

This exercise can be combined with shorter bursts where you lift your pelvic floor and hold for 1-2 seconds, repeating 10 times in quick succession. To incorporate pelvic floor exercises into your daily routine try performing them first thing in the morning before you get up, last thing at night before you go to bed, or at each set of red traffic lights on the way to or from work.

Pelvic floor muscles play a key role in our daily lives, and as with all muscles, need to be exercised regularly in order to keep them performing at their optimal level. If you are unsure whether or not you’re performing the exercises correctly, consult with a health care professional such as your GP or Women’s Health specialist.

Written by Annette Buckley, Springday Expert.

Back to Exercise.

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