What are Kegel Exercises and
Do They Really Work?
Chances are you've heard of Kegel exercises (often misspelled as Kegal exercises) if you've browsed through any women's magazines in recent years. Sometimes simply referred to as "Kegels", these exercises are known for their sexual benefits to women including better orgasms.
Curiously, ever since the era in which Christie Brinkley became a "Cover Girl", many of our favorite trendy magazines have been watered down by glossy articles that only scratch the surface of what Kegel exercises are really all about. (For those who don't know, Christie Brinkley was America's hottest super model while cuties like Tyra Banks were still in diapers!)
OK, so at the risk of burdening you with information overload (I promise to keep things as simple as possible), let's start from the beginning...
Kegel exercises originated from the work of Dr. Arnold Kegel, a physician who practiced Gynecology in Los Angeles beginning in the 1940s. Many of Kegel's female patients suffered from urinary incontinence. In laymen's terms- they lacked bladder control and were known to soil their girdles in times of excitement or distress.
Dr Kegel was able to identify weak, under-developed pubococcygeus muscles (Try saying that three times fast) (also known as PC muscles) as the root cause of the condition. In case you're wondering ladies, these are the muscles that form our pelvic floors. Factors such as being overweight, aging, pregnancy and childbirth can not only cause our pelvic muscles to weaken, they can also cause our vaginas to lose their elasticity. Yikes!
Fortunately, by 1950 (after many years of research and tedious clinical trials) the noble physician was able to develop a form of therapy that had a 93% cure rate. Dr Kegel's exercises involved repetitively clenching and relaxing the PC muscles in order to perform a series of contractions.
Although originally designed to cure bladder control problems, it was later discover that an increase in pelvic floor muscle strength can also translate into more pleasurable sex for a woman and her partner by allowing the vagina to grip a man's penis more firmly. Essentially, Kegel exercises can be considered a fitness regimen for our vaginas. Performing routine Kegels can restore youth to our vaginas by helping to make them compact, strong and tight- like when we were teenagers!
Oh yeah honey, now we're talking...
What the Magazines Don't Tell You
Pelvic floor exercises are performed by engaging the muscles that we use in order to stop the flow of urine. According to lots of magazine articles, Kegel exercises can be performed effectively by simply repetitively clenching and unclenching your PC muscles as if to stop the flow of urine midstream. However, this notion can be very misleading. Aw, shucks!
Although this technique is a good method of identifying where the PC muscles are and how to contract them, it only has about a 50% success rate for reducing mild to moderate bladder control problems. Claims of increased sexual benefits using this technique by itself have produced marginal results at best.
So why do so many magazines and clinical professionals recommend doing Kegels if they are often ineffective. The truth is- many of these presumably reliable sources simply haven't done their homework. In reality, doing the pelvic floor routine without the aid of a training device is a lot like trying to develop muscular biceps by merely flexing your arms (without doing any resistance or weight training). On the other hand, Kegel exercises, when practiced correctly in conjunction with a biofeedback device, are over 90% effective.
Let's backtrack to the 1950's and 60's when Dr. Kegel was still practicing medicine. He never intended for the technique of clenching and relaxing the PC muscles by itself to be the instructional tool that it has become today. This was simply his way of gauging his patients' ability to contract their PCs. It was a way to measure his patients' level of pelvic floor strength and functionality.
The true benefit of Dr Kegel's exercises came into fruition when he invented the world's first biofeedback instrument, called the perineometer. This resistive device was employed as a "home trainer" for Kegel's patients. His patients exercised with the device regularly in order to help restore dormant muscle function and as a means of measuring progress.
Why Should I do Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises, when done using a high quality isometric training device, can dramatically improve symptoms of urinary incontinence. As your pelvic floor and vaginal muscles become stronger your vagina also tightens, making orgasms and sexual intercourse with your partner more gratifying for both of you.
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