Navigating postpartum exercise: are Kegels right for you?
If you’re pregnant or postpartum, you might have heard the recommendation to “do some Kegels”. While it may seem like common sense advice, is it really the right exercise for you? After I gave birth, my doctor suggested practicing Kegels every day to strengthen my pelvic floor. But no matter how I tried, I found that doing Kegels didn’t seem to help my recovery. What I realized was that while practicing Kegels regularly may be great for some people, it doesn’t work for everyone. In those cases, there are alternatives that might be even better.
Back up — what are Kegels? Named after its creator, an ob/gyn called Arnold Kegel, the exercises are done in order to strengthen the pelvic floor.
Here is how to do a Kegel:
1) Squeeze and lift the pelvic floor
2) Relax it completely
Or imagine squeezing then lifting a marble, and letting it go. Do not squeeze your glutes at the same time. There are variations, like training any other muscle group. It ranges from a subtle lift to a full contraction. You can either fire and release quickly, or hold for 5-10 seconds.
How well you would respond to Kegel exercises depends mostly on your pelvic floor muscle tone. While it’s best to get evaluated in person by a physical therapist, there are also clues that could point to which type of tone you might have. Pelvic floors can be considered overactive (hypertonic), under-active (hypotonic), and neutral.
An overactive pelvic floor tends to be tight and tense. Possible signs of being hypertonic: difficulty to get a good inhale all the way down to the pelvic floor, tendency to be in a shallow breathing pattern (breathing up into the chest), and difficulty contracting. For this person, there is already a tendency for tension so doing lots of Kegels could make things worse. Instead, focus on an expansive inhale, and find relaxation on the exhale. Personally, I found the combination of deep breathing, hip stretches, and squats to be really effective. As it turns out, helping my muscles to relax was what I needed to build strength. Squats and happy baby yoga poses can help get an inhale down and also provides lengthening for the pelvic floor. Once you have released the tightness, you can add in mild Kegels.
In contrast, an under-active pelvic floor has decreased function and is associated with low muscle tone. A very long pushing phase during delivery is a good sign of being hypotonic. This person is likely to respond well to Kegels and actually get better from doing them. Squats can also be good for this person, especially with a tightening contraction on the way up.
It is about finding balance - a healthy pelvic floor needs lengthening and strengthening. After all, the pelvic floor is an essential part of your core. Working with an instructor to re-establish a good breathing pattern and finding overall functional movement can be very helpful in getting quicker results. Whether or not Kegels is the best thing for you, tuning into the breath and body is a good foundation for any Pilates practice.
If you’re looking for a great prenatal class to stretch and strengthen all-around, try our seated to standing on-demand class.
Amp up your Kegel Routine
If you find yourself in the under-active, hypotonic group and want to amp up your kegel routine, a pelvic floor trainer might be a great tool to add to your kit. We recommend the Elvie Trainer to help strengthen pelvic floor muscles.