The exercises to combat urinary incontinence may be Kegel exercises or hipopressive exercises, which are a great way to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, also improving the function of the urethral sphincters.
In order to control urinary incontinence only with these exercises it is necessary to make each contraction correctly, every day until the complete resolution of the problem. Some people take longer than others to recover, so in about 1 month you can see the results, but the treatment time can vary from 6 months to 1 year.
These exercises can be performed in the case of female or male urinary incontinence.
How to Do Kegel Exercises
How to know which muscle to contract:
To do the Kegel exercises correctly, first identify the perineum muscle:
- Empty the bladder and then try to hold the urine.
- Now that you know which muscle to contract, keep contracting this muscle, count to 10, then relax for 5 seconds.
How often do:
To start you should do 10 consecutive contractions and then stop. Do at least 3 complete sets, and repeat 2 to 3 times a day. In total, it is advised to do at least 100 contractions per day, but it is not advised to do it all at once because the pelvic floor muscles tire very easily.
After approximately 15 days to 1 month: progress can be made leaving the exercise more difficult and for that it is enough with each contraction that does, to maintain the same contraction for another 10 seconds. The complete series consists of making at least 20 sustained contractions in 2 different periods of the day, morning and late afternoon, for example.
Although it is a simple exercise that can be done anytime, anywhere, it is most appropriate to set a time of day to devote to it because it makes it easier to complete the series to the end.
This exercise can be performed in a sitting, lying or standing position, but to start it is easier to start lying down. With practice it is normal to want to do the contractions more quickly, but this should not happen because the ideal is that each contraction is well controlled so that it has the expected effect.
Watch the following video to better understand how to do these exercises:
How to do hipopressive gymnastics
To make hipopressive gymnastics to treat involuntary loss of urine, one should:
- Lie on your stomach with your knees bent and your arms along your body. Then the lungs should be completely emptied, making a forced expiration until the abdomen begins to contract alone.
- After removing all the air you should suck the belly in, as if you wanted to touch the belly button in the back and keep this position without breathing for 10 to 30 seconds or for as long as you can not breathe.
During this 'sucking' of the belly, one must also contract the muscles of the perineum, maximizing all the organs inwards and upwards, as if it wanted that all were kept behind the ribs.
It is important that these exercises are always performed with the bladder empty to avoid cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder by the accumulation of microorganisms inside. The purpose of these exercises is to restore the tonus and muscular strength of the perineum and the entire pelvic floor, preventing the loss of urine, improving even intimate contact.
