Kegel exercise is an exercise that helps strengthen your pelvic muscles. The exercise is done with Kegel balls, also known as Ben Wa balls.

Disturbances in the pelvic muscles for various reasons such as postpartum problems, gaining excess weight, and old age can cause consequences such as urinary incontinence and reduce your quality of life[1]. In such cases, you can strengthen your pelvic muscles and increase your quality of life by doing Kegel Exercise. Kegel exercises can also positively affect your sex life. The good thing about Kegel exercises is that you can do the exercise wherever you want, from the outside, no one will know that you are doing Kegel exercises!

Brief History

American gynecologist Arnold Kegel introduced the Kegel exercise to the world with his work in the 1940s. Although the aim of Kegel's studies is to provide non-surgical treatment for women with urinary incontinence, men with urinary incontinence can also perform Kegel exercises.[2]

How to Do Kegel Exercises

First of all, you need to find the right muscles to work with the Kegel exercise. The right muscle group is the one you feel you are using when trying to hold your urine. These muscles are called pelvic floor muscles.

You should do the Kegel exercise when you don't need the toilet. Once you're sure you're feeling the right muscle group, you can move on to exercise. Clean your hands and Kegel balls before you start exercising. We recommend using Kegel balls with water-based lubricants. After cleansing, apply a few drops of lubricant to your Kegel balls and insert them into your vagina. In order to work the right muscles, you should place Kegel balls 3-5 cm deep in your vagina, not as deep as using tampons. You should feel comfortable inserting the Kegel balls, if you feel any discomfort, try inserting them again.

Once you have placed the Kegel balls correctly, you can begin your exercise. The exercise is so simple that anyone can do it, and it's done like this:

1. Squeeze Kegel balls with your pelvic roof muscles for 3-5 seconds.
2. Stop squeezing your muscles for 3-5 seconds. The first two steps make 1 loop.
3. Perform this cycle 10 times.

Do not tighten your abdominal or leg muscles, do not raise your hips during the exercise. You can control your abdominal muscles by placing your hand on your stomach to make sure you are not tightening your abdominal muscles. You can feel the results in about 4-6 weeks by doing the Kegel exercise 3 times a day for a total of 30-40 cycles. As your pelvic floor muscles develop over time, you can increase the amount of time you squeeze the Kegel ball. Men can also perform Kegel exercises without using a Kegel ball, similarly by working the pelvic floor muscle group[2][3].

Kegel Exercise Benefits

When Kegel exercises are done correctly on a regular basis;

• It helps men to control their ejaculation during sexual intercourse and to eliminate premature ejaculation problems[4].
• It increases vaginal wetness during sexual intercourse[5].
• It facilitates reaching orgasm[5].
• It helps to solve your urinary incontinence problem[4].

resources

[1] https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000141.htm 

[2] https://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/step-by-step-guide-to-performing-kegel-exercises

[3] https://www.pelvicexercises.com.au/how-to-use-kegel-balls-for-strength/?v=ebe021079e5a&c=22783a5940ef 

[4] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14611-kegel-exercises 

[5] https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-education/pelvic-floor-muscle-kegel-exercises-women-improve-sexual-health