All About Kegels – Helpful or Harmful?

Kegels refer to a type of exercise that is used to help strengthen your pelvic floor.

You can perform them regardless of whether you have a vagina or a penis, and they can help support treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction, which causes symptoms like urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, prolapse, sexual dysfunction, and more.

Sounds great, right? But unfortunately, Kegels are not really what people make them out to be…

For quite some time now, Kegels have been repeatedly recommended by several sources as a cure-all for practically any pelvic condition you can think of. They became a fad of sorts—and while I definitely want people to be more proactive in their own health, Kegels are just not always the answer.

Let me highlight that once again: Kegels are not always suitable for your needs.

This exercise is not a magical solution for pelvic floor problems. In fact, they can actually have the reverse effect if not done correctly or in the right instances, meaning you could be making your symptoms even worse unknowingly.

Imagine you visited the clinic to address shoulder pain, and your doctor tells you to just do tons of bicep curls every day. While bicep curls can strengthen your shoulders, they do not address the actual root of your pain.

The same can be considered for Kegels. They just aren’t always appropriate!

If you’ve been doing Kegels or had an interest in them, don’t worry. In this blog, we’ll be unpacking Kegels thoroughly: when can they be useful, when they are harmful, and what types of Kegel techniques you should avoid.

Before we jump in, it’s important to note that doing any pelvic floor exercise without the guidance of a pelvic floor physical therapist is not recommended. Only an experienced professional can analyze your pelvic floor condition and the best course of treatment for your symptoms. 

By jumping into exercises like Kegels without a professional recommendation, you risk worsening your symptoms or simply seeing no real progress. 

If you suspect that you are struggling with symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, I encourage you to make an appointment with me so that we can get you started on an effective and holistic plan of care that will fit your unique needs and provide long-lasting results!

So, what makes Kegels unsuitable for certain pelvic floor conditions? First, let’s explore the pelvic floor itself.

Understanding Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

The pelvic floor refers to a group of muscles found within your pelvis. These muscles are responsible for a wide range of functions, and perform these functions on a daily basis, often without you even thinking about it.

When you pick items up off the floor, play sports, use the restroom, have sex, climb stairs, or even just stand or sit—your pelvic floor is supporting you! It even connects to other structures of the body to help support posture and stability.

Due to its many daily duties and interconnectedness with so many areas of the body, the pelvic floor is prone to dysfunction. This includes things like urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, hip pain, constipation, fecal incontinence, painful sex, prolapse, and more.

All of these dysfunctions can be treated, but not in the same way. Generally speaking, pelvic floor dysfunction refers to when your pelvic floor is too tight, too weak, uncoordinated, or inflexible. It can even be a combination of all those things!

All of these characteristics must be targeted with specific treatment methods—which does not always include Kegels.

Say you’ve been experiencing pelvic pain, painful sex, and constipation, which are often created by tight pelvic floor muscles.

You don’t realize that your muscles are tight—only that sex is painful, you can’t use the restroom regularly or easily, and your pelvis hurts sometimes. So, you do some research and find a source saying that pelvic floor problems can be solved with Kegels.

You do Kegels every day, but your problems don’t go away. That’s because your pelvic floor may not need so much strengthening, but rather better control and a release of all that tension; something that Kegels cannot provide!

There’s not really an easy way for you to know what your pelvic floor needs are on your own, which is why I strongly recommend seeing a pelvic floor therapist for guidance.

A pelvic floor physical therapist is able to physically assess your pelvic floor’s condition and determine an effective plan of care based on those findings, as well as many other aspects (medical history, other pre-existing conditions, health goals, and more).

Those who are pregnant or are struggling with other chronic conditions (endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc.) will definitely want to work with a pelvic floor therapist to decide if Kegels are suitable.

If you have any questions about treatment, examinations, or appointments, feel free to have them answered with a free discovery call.

So, we’ve addressed why and how Kegels may not always be suitable for pelvic floor problems. When are they actually useful, then?

Kegels can be a small part of a more complete and comprehensive treatment plan that aims to improve all aspects of your pelvic floor health; not just strengthening, but also improving control, coordination, flexibility, and more. Strengthening is just one piece of the puzzle!

When used alongside other strategies and techniques, Kegels can help support treatment for conditions that are often caused by a weak pelvic floor; this includes symptoms such as urge incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic pain, frequent urination, erectile dysfunction, problems with ejaculation, and more.

Not to mention, Kegels are an easy at-home exercise that anyone can do. They’re accessible and can be done without any special tools. Trying Kegels can help you gauge your control over your pelvic floor, and give you an idea of how those muscles feel or move.

If you’ve tried Kegels before but experienced no changes from doing them even after many weeks, you may not be giving your pelvic floor what it actually needs. Or, you may not be performing them properly.

Being unable to perform a kegel is another sign of pelvic floor dysfunction (lack of control or coordination) and you should therefore seek the guidance of a pelvic floor therapist.

Hopefully by now you’ve learned how Kegels are basically like any other form of exercise. They won’t and can’t solve all your problems, but can be useful for some people when included into a more comprehensive plan!

Just like with any other form of treatment, Kegels are the most useful when recommended by a physical therapist as a part of a comprehensive plan of care.

If you really want to see effective, long-lasting changes for your pelvic floor health and quality of life overall, I encourage you to get started with pelvic floor physical therapy!

Pelvic floor physical therapy offers additional treatment methods like neuromuscular re-education, biofeedback, exercise prescription, manual therapy, and behavioral changes. 

These help to get not just your pelvic floor back into shape, but the entire system that works together to allow function and comfort for your body—your hips, abdominals, lower back, and entire pelvis! These areas all function together to provide mobile, pain-free living.

You may be wondering: “Why does that even matter?” Well, the body doesn’t work in separate parts. Your pelvic floor is very interconnected with so many other areas! Therefore, a holistic treatment approach is the best way to ensure that you are set up for long-term success.

If you’d like to learn more about the pelvic floor and your symptoms, check out the pelvic floor dysfunction page.

If you’re still on the fence about starting pelvic floor treatment, try a discovery call! With this dedicated phone call, you can ask questions and decide if pelvic floor therapy is right for you.