Pelvic Floor Exercises

Teens and twenties

• For young women who experience bladder weakness (not pregnancy related)
• After pregnancy and childbirth
• To prevent bladder weakness during pregnancy
• To aid giving birth and recovery
• To prevent bladder weakness after childbirth
• For young women who experience bladder weakness (not pregnancy related)
  
  

Mid Life

• To improve core strength and prevent back injuries
• To prevent bladder weakness and leakage when coughing, laughing and excercising
  
  

Menopause

• To counter the effects of hormonal changes during menopause that can cause bladder weakness
• For core strength and back support
  
  

Older Age

• To prevent bladder weakness leading to incontinence in older people
• To ensure you don’t end up incontinent and wearing incontinence pads as an aged person…it doesn’t have to be that way!
  
  

Other factors that can cause bladder weakness or incontinence are:

• Straining to empty the bladder or bowel with or without constipation
• Constipation
• Persistent heavy lifting
• Chronic cough (from smoking, chronic bronchitis or asthma)
• Being overweight
• Lack of general fitness
  
  

Pelvic floor exercises—how to...

Start with these exercises while sitting and as your muscles get stronger, you can try the exercises in a standing position. Try to build on your exercises each day and remember to use engage your pelvic floor muscles during your daily activities such as when lifting and walking up stairs. Once you know where they are this will be a lot easier!
You can mentally locate the muscles working by squeezing or tightening around your anus (bottom hole), vagina and urethra (where urine comes out)

In the morning: standing exercises.

• Do 5 squeezes/contractions while breathing normally and hold each one for 3.5 seconds—don’t hold your breath!
• Release and relax your pelvic muscle.
• You should have a definite feeling of letting go.
• Rest for 30 seconds - repeat the 5 squeezing/contracting action
• Resting between exercises is important.
  
  

At lunchtime: sitting exercises, lean forward.

• Do 5 squeezes/contractions while breathing normally and hold each one for 3.5 seconds—don’t hold your breath!
• Release and relax your pelvic muscle.
• You should have a definite feeling of letting go.
• Rest for 30 seconds - repeat the 5 squeezing/contracting action
• Resting between exercises is important.
  
  

In the evening: lie or sit.

• Do 5 squeezes/contractions while breathing normally and hold each one for 3.5 seconds—don’t hold your breath!
• Release and relax your pelvic muscle.
• You should have a definite feeling of letting go.
• Rest for 30 seconds - repeat the 5 squeezing/contracting action
• Resting between exercises is important.
• Keep breathing normally, do NOT hold your breath
• Squeeze and lift the muscles up, do NOT push down
• Do NOT pull your tummy in tightly
• Do NOT tighten your buttocks and thighs
  
  

Repeat these exercises daily if you can or 3-4 times per week minimum.
Doing the exercises well is more important than doing them for a long period of time, so take the time
to engage your pelvic floor muscles when you need them most, such as before you cough, sneeze, lift, bend, get up out of a chair

Ongoing exercises

• Ideally you will do these exercises daily or 3-4 days per week
• Remember it is quality not quantity that matters