Pelvic gymnastics: exercises for the female and male pelvic floor
Pelvic gymnastics is a very useful training full of beneficial effects: it serves, among many other things, to improve or prevent urinary incontinence, uterine prolapse, prostate function, after a "hysterectomy or to solve problems of nature. sexual. Before we proceed, here is a short video explaining the benefits of intimate gymnastics on health and sex life and some examples of super useful and easy to do exercise!
It is a series of exercises designed specifically to keep all the pelvic floor muscles in training, fighting symptoms and ailments. The pelvic muscles, in us women, are those that go from the pubis to the coccyx and surround the opening of the vagina, urethra and rectum. It is no coincidence that they are connected not only to our health, but also to sexual pleasure! pelvic because these muscles are so well intertwined that they form a unique concave that connects to key muscles such as the uterus, vagina, bladder and rectum.
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Usefulness and benefits of these exercises
Pelvic gymnastics, as a first advantage, has precisely that of improving our sex life, leading to an increase in pleasure. The knowledge of our most "intimate" muscles, knowing how to govern them in some way and having worked on their strengthening can help us women to have stronger and more satisfying orgasms. In fact, the greater the tone of the muscles, the more intense our pleasure will be.
An additional benefit of this type of gymnastics is the reduction of menstrual pain: exercises for the pelvic muscles improve blood flow by reducing congestion and promoting blood flow. They can also be useful in case of gynecological disorders such as candida, vaginitis and discharge.
Practicing them in menopause helps fight symptoms, from vaginal dryness to hot flashes. It is also excellent if you suffer from urinary incontinence: they help to strengthen the pelvic floor so that it can better protect the urethra.
In case of prolapse of the uterus, bladder and rectum, then, pelvic gymnastics can help as toning: it would be better, however, to practice it before the prolapse occurs, as a form of prevention.
Even during pregnancy it would be good to train the pelvic muscles to make them more ready and elastic at the time of delivery. In the case of infertility, however, greater tone in the pelvic area can increase the possibility of becoming pregnant.
Finally, pelvic gymnastics helps women to tone the abdominal area, reducing the so-called "belly".
There are also benefits for men: the male pelvic floor is the one that supports and regulates both the genitals and the urinary tract. Strengthening these muscles can therefore help your partner both for problems concerning incontinence and for sexual problems. from erectile dysfunction to premature ejaculation, up to prostatitis.
Pelvic floor gymnastics after hysterectomy
If you have undergone a hysterectomy, ie an operation to remove the uterus, pelvic gymnastics will play a very important role in avoiding the risk of prolapse, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction, among the most frequent consequences of this operation.
It seems in fact that the number of women who suffer from incontinence after hysterectomy is between 25% and 49%. Strengthening the pelvic floor becomes in these cases necessary for the health of the woman, for her well-being not only physical, but also psychological, given the social problems and the stress that this problem entails.
5 exercises for women's problems
Putting the exercises we suggest into practice is not difficult, but it requires consistency: once you have learned the movements you can do them anywhere and just repeat them for five minutes a day!
1 - Start by contracting the muscles around the anus, then those around the vagina and urethra, making sure to relax both the thighs and the buttocks. Hold each contraction for about 2 seconds and relax for another 2. Repeat the exercise. many times.
2 - The next exercise involves increasing the time of contraction, keeping the muscles contracted for 5 seconds, then relaxing for another 5. Repeat the movement about 10 times.
3 - Finally, you can try to contract the muscles by holding the position for as long as possible (the ideal would be about 1 minute). Finally, resume the previous exercise, and repeat this at the end of each sequence.
4 - Another exercise that you can always do while lying down is that of lifting the pelvis: bend the knees and spread the legs slightly, lifting the pelvis as much as you can and, at the same time, contracting the pelvic muscles. Hold the position for a few seconds, relax and come back with your butt on the ground. Repeat the sequence at least twenty times.
5 - One last exercise is the one that involves starting from a sitting position, with crossed legs: inhale and at the same time contract the anal muscles as if trying to hold back defecation, finally relax. Repeat the movement until you feel you can fully control it.
And the men? Here are 3 types of exercises for your him
Pelvic exercises are also very useful for men, but even in this case it takes consistency.
1 - Suggest to your partner, husband or family member to sit or lie down in a relaxed position, contract the muscular ring surrounding the anus, feeling the musculature moving. Alternatively, he can try to stop peeing while urinating (exercise to be practiced no more than once or it could be harmful!): In this way he will identify the muscles on which he will go to work.
2 - A simple but useful exercise consists in contracting the aforementioned muscles (around the anus and urethra) keeping it for a few seconds, finally relaxing. The exercise must be repeated about ten times, with pauses of a few seconds between one and the other.
3 - When this first exercise is simple for him, he can try to repeat the contractions more quickly and intensely, about ten times, making sure to relax the buttock and thigh muscles.
To find out if he is making the right movement, he can do it in front of the mirror: if it is correct, he will see the scrotum rise and the penis retract while holding the pelvic muscles.
