Pelvic floor exercises - am I the only one?

[supergolden88]

I think my pelvic floor has subsidence. I have a cough (had it for weeks) and every time I cough I seem to have little leaks. It's very annoying not to mention embarassing

Am I the only one unable to locate the pelvic floor let alone exercise it? I have been told the method and read about it but it seems to be doing nothing.

[Adelle007]

How long ago did you give birth? If its recent dont be too worried you are definately not alone mine were terrible for a while. I embaressingly leaked a few times. I started off by simply trying to stop myself from weeing when I was sat on the toilet. To begin with I could hardly even slow down the flow, but gradually it did improve and now I can stop it. Its a SLOW process though and it all depends on how badly your pelvic floor has been damaged. If you are really worried you should go to your GP my friends baby is 5 months older and her pelvic floor is much worse than mine she still leaks she went to her GP and has now been referred to a pyhsio so there is extra help if needed.

Hope it improves its not nice wetting yourself but dont worry it happens to most if not all of us after having a baby.

Good Luck :o)

[supergolden88]

I had my first baby 4 years ago and now pregnat with second. It's mostly when I cough or sneeze.

[annaj]

Just wanted to say that it's actually not a good idea to do pelvic floor exercises while you're peeing.

I'm glad it worked for you, Adelle, but it can lead to incomplete voiding which in turn leads to urinary tract infections.

Trying once or twice while you're peeing, just to make sure you're doing the right thing, is fine, but you shouldn't do them regularly while peeing.

supergolden, they should work if you do them consistently, hold for long enough and do enough of them. The technique is to squeeze and hold for a few seconds (3-5 to start with) then release. Try not to tense anything else, like your tummy or bum, just focus on squeezing and holding the right bit. It can be easier to do them sitting down at first. Build them in to your day, do them while you clean your teeth or on the bus, and it should start to work. If not, as Adelle said, see your GP.

[sanity girl]

Hi, I can sympathise. I had pelvic floor problems after my daughter's birth, and also at the beginning of this pregnancy (leaking when I had a bad cough, etc), although it has now passed thankfully. I also have always found it difficult to do pelvic floor exercises. I was lucky enough to be referred to the brilliant physio at Kings who really helped explain how to do the exercises properly. She advised me at the beginning when my muscles were weaker and needed training to do just to about 20 quick squeezes in succession a few times a day for a week or so, before trying to progress to longer squeezes (3-5 seconds). I have also found that for me, I can only do the exercises when I am really concentrating and not distracted, and I find it near impossible to do them while sitting. The best time for me is lying in bed before going to sleep, but also waiting for the bus is quite a good time to try the quick squeezes. If there is any way you can get a referral to the Kings physio I would really recommend it - I think she sees people privately but I'm afraid I can't remember her name and don't have her contact details - perhaps somebody else on here does?

Edited to add: another useful thing the physio said to me was that the sensation of letting go in a controlled way after the squeeze is just as important as the squeeze itself - hope that makes sense! If you do manage to get to see a physio then they do this really useful thing called "biofeedback" (I think that's the correct term) where they put a sensor inside you while you are doing the exercises so that you can then see on a computer screen whether you are squeezing the muscles hard enough. Hard to explain here but do PM if you want to chat about it more.

[curlykaren]

ooo yes, please take annajs' advice onboard, its really not good to do the exercises regularly while peeing!

[snowboarder]

I thought I was fine until most recent bout of hayfever/cold/awful cough hit 3 weeks ago. Turns out I need to get going on those exercises again. Gah will the indignity ever end?!?

[hpsaucey]

I got referred to the urino-gynacological (God - miracle if I've spelt that right) unit at Kings as I had third degree tearing with my first. The therapist there was BRILLIANT. Was assessed and given exercises to do. MY main point is that its not always as simple as just doing pelvic floor exercises. They told me that I needed to exercise both for long and short 'hold's if I can put it that way. Also isolating front, middle and back muscles. Also how to hold in your abdomen most of the time in order to support your pelvic floor - takes practice but becomes automatic - and most importantly of all, how to cough without putting pressure on it!

Maybe worth getting referred by your GP?

Good luck,

H