Best Kegel Exercises

[Rosicler Kleckner]

Thefollowing information is based on the general experiences of many prostate cancer patients. Your experience may be different. If you have any questions about what prostate cancer treatment services are covered by your health insurance, please contact your health care provider or health insurance provider. This education material was made possible by a grant from the California Department of Justice, Antitrust Law Section, from litigation settlement funds to benefit Californians diagnosed with cancer or their families.

When you have prostate cancer surgery or radiation therapy the muscles that help you control your urine flow may be weakened. When this happens you may have incontinence, which is when you leak or pass urine when you do not want to. This is a very common side effect or unwanted change of prostate cancer treatment. The good news is that there is a simple exercise, called a Kegel (Key-gul) exercise, you can do to help strengthen your muscles. This exercise will help you have more control over your urine flow after your prostate cancer treatment. You will learn:

It is important for you to think about and plan how you will take care of yourself before and after your prostate cancer treatment so that you can keep doing as many of your normal activities as possible.

Kegel exercises are easy exercises you can do before and after your prostate cancer treatment to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles help control your urine flow. Kegel exercises are one of the most effective ways of controlling incontinence without medication or surgery.

The prostate is a gland, about the size of a walnut, located under the bladder surrounding the upper part of the urethra. The urethra is a tube that carries urine through the penis to the outside of the body. There are many muscles that surround the prostate gland. These muscles may be weakened during your prostate cancer treatment, which may cause you to have urine leakage (also known as incontinence). Building up the strength in your pelvic floor muscles can help you gain better control of your bladder and urine flow. Remember, that just as it takes time to build your biceps and strengthen any other muscle in your body, it takes time to strengthen muscles in your pelvic floor.

In order to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, it is important that you take time to make sure you are exercising the right muscles. It may take you several tries to find your pelvic muscles. So, take your time.

When you first start doing your Kegel exercises, you may not be able to repeat the exercise 10 to 20 times. This is ok. It is much better for you to do fewer Kegel exercises that make your pelvic floor muscles stronger, than to do more exercises that do not work the muscle in the right way. As you get better at doing your Kegel exercises, slowly increase the number of times you repeat the exercise until you reach 20. Your goal should be to do 20 Kegel exercise three to four times each day.

It can take six weeks or longer to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles so it is best to start doing your Kegel exercises before you have prostate cancer treatment. This will help you become better at doing the Kegel exercises and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles before your treatment starts. Remember, your pelvic floor muscles are like any other muscle in your body. It takes regular exercise and time to strengthen them.

Start doing your Kegel exercises according to the instructions above as soon as the catheter is taken out of your penis. After your catheter is removed you may experience some urine leakage (incontinence) when you stand up, cough, sneeze, laugh, or lift something. You will probably need to use incontinence pads for a while. However, doing Kegel exercises may help you control your urine flow sooner. If you have urine leakage when you stand up, cough, sneeze, laugh, or lift something, try doing a Kegel exercise. This may keep you from leaking urine.

Do not become discouraged if you have urine leakage. If you do your Kegel exercises on a daily basis, you can expect to see some results. You may have a great improvement, or you may help keep your urine leakage from getting worse. You will need to continue doing your Kegel exercises each day so that your pelvic floor muscles stay strong.

If you have any questions or concerns about urine leakage (incontinence), how to do Kegel exercises, or if you would like to know about other things that may help with urine leakage, please talk to your doctor or your health care team.

If you have any questions, please talk to your doctor or health care team. It is important for you to think about and plan how you will take care of yourself before and after your prostate cancer treatment. This knowledge will help you take better care of yourself and feel more in control so that you can get the most from your treatment.

A study from the University of the West in the United Kingdom found that pelvic exercises helped 40 percent of men with ED regain normal erectile function. They also helped an additional 33.5 percent significantly improve erectile function. Additional research suggests pelvic muscle training may be helpful for treating ED as well as other pelvic health issues.

Pelvic floor exercises improve the strength of the pelvic floor muscles. These exercises are more commonly known as Kegel exercises. Women perform Kegels in preparation for and to regain muscle tone after childbirth. Kegels also promote urinary continence and sexual health.

Kegel exercises can benefit men as well. In particular, they help to strengthen the bulbocavernosus muscle. This important muscle does three jobs: It allows the penis to engorge with blood during erection, it pumps during ejaculation, and it helps empty the urethra after urination.

The best method for locating the muscles of the pelvic floor (the lower pelvis) is to stop your stream several times in the middle of urination. The muscles you clench to do this are the ones you need to exercise.

To perform a rep of Kegel exercises, squeeze those muscles, hold for five seconds, then relax. Repeat this 10 to 20 times, two or three times a day. You may want to try this in different positions, including lying down with your knees up, sitting in a chair, and standing.

ED is often caused by blood flow problems to the penis. Obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and vascular disease can affect blood flow and result in ED. Adding aerobic exercise to your routine can improve your overall health and may lead to improvements in ED.

For men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or enlarged prostate, pelvic muscle exercises known as Kegel exercises can relieve symptoms by strengthening the muscles around your bladder and penis. While generally considered beneficial for women during childbirth, Kegel exercises may help with urinary symptoms like:

Pelvic floor muscles support the bladder, anus and intestines. In women, they also help push a baby through the vaginal opening during childbirth. They are located on the inner portion of the pelvic bones.

Before performing Kegel exercises, you need to locate the pelvic floor muscles. Theycontrol the flow of urine, so a good way to find them is to stop and start your urine stream while urinating. Don't tense your legs, abdomen or buttocks while doing this.

Another way to find them, which the American Urological Association recommends, is to try to move your penis up or down without moving the rest of your body. If you can do this, you are using your pelvic floor muscles.

Lift yourself up from the buttocks while keeping your hands flat and contracting the pelvic floor muscles. Hold the contraction for up to 10 seconds, then lower your hips back down and release the muscles. Do this ten times.

It may take you a short while to get used to doing Kegel exercises. Start slowly, and as you get better at doing them, gradually increase the number of times you repeat the exercises. Your goal should be around 20 Kegel exercises three to four times a day.

Don't expect to see miracle results overnight. Like any form of exercise, it can take a while for the benefits to become apparent. However, once you have mastered the exercise techniques and are doing them regularly, you should see an improvement in bladder control and urinary symptoms within six weeks.

If one month passes and you haven't noticed any difference, you may not have located the correct muscles. In any case, have a chat with your urologist, who can tell you how to find the muscles correctly. Don't be embarrassed to ask for help if you need it. Your healthcare provider has important information that can help you.

Although Kegel exercises can help alleviate some symptoms, they do not address the issue of having an enlarged prostate. For many men with BPH, the best way forward to reduce the prostate's size is with medication, surgery or minimally invasive treatments such as prostatic artery embolization (PAE).

This non-surgical procedure is performed on an outpatient basis and involves releasing thousands of microscopic beads into arteries that feed the prostate. They block off the blood flow to the gland, so it shrinks, bringing symptom relief.

At the Midwest Institute for Non-surgical Therapy (MINT), we specialize in performing PAE and have helped hundreds of men with BPH. For more information and to schedule a free consultation, please get in touch with us today at one of our 5 locations, including Chicago, IL.

One of the most common and beneficial erectile dysfunction exercises is Kegels, which helps strengthen the muscles in your pelvic floor. When practiced correctly, Kegels are the perfect way to do just that!

In men, Kegels target and strengthen the bulbocavernosus muscle. This muscle allows the penis to fill with blood during an erection, pump during ejaculation, and empty the urethra after urination. By targeting this muscle, you should see longer-lasting and satisfying erections.

To perform basic Kegels, begin by lying, sitting, or standing. Clench the bulbocavernosus muscle and hold for three seconds. Release and repeat three to five times. Repeat this process at least three times daily for the best results.

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