Pelvic Floor Exercises (that aren't Kegels)

If you went to your postpartum follow up or asked the internet how to improve your pelvic floor strength, you probably were told the secret to success is Kegels. Maybe it helped a bit, maybe it made you worse, but chances are it alone didn't solve your problem. 

Why? Because it's more complicated than just learning how to contract a muscle group. 

Think back to before you experienced weakness, tension, leaking, heaviness, whatever pelvic floor complaints you have now. Did you have to think about Kegels with every activity then? Probably not!

These muscle are part of the deep core system. They work with our abs, back, diaphragm, muscles of the ribs to help manage pressure, stabilize the spine, prevent leaks, shock absorb, etc. They are anticipatory muscles which means they kick on just before we move in a rather automatic way like our abs (or they should in a healthy system). We can think about contracting or relaxing them to override their more automatic roles just like you can with your abs.

While Kegels can be a good way to help improve endurance or re-establish coordination, there are more functional exercises that will better strengthen the pelvic floor. Here's a list of some exercises that get better pelvic floor and core muscle co=activation for more effective strengthening than a Kegel. Know that if your feel pelvic floor symptoms with an exercise, you may need help finding ways to modify to the right intensity to meet yourself where you are.