There are about 25 million Americans who suffer from it.
I quote the Pelvic Floor Centre in Richmond’s co-director, which is Dr. David Glazier. “Urinary incontinence is a very insidious process. It occurs very slowly; people think it’s a normal part of aging.”
But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. Not only is this something for our senior citizens to be concerned about, there are numerous other groups of people affected.
- Women, both pre and post-natal
- Athletes who perform extreme sports
- People going through a lot of stress
- People who have had a prolapse
There are various medical procedures that can be done but there is one way for you to treat it safely and effectively. If you persevere over a few weeks with Pelvic Floor Exercises, you will definitely improve. During pilates sessions, I teach these exercises. Actually, I’m proof of the pudding because I did suffer a prolapsed some years ago, but there is no sign of it any longer.
Pelvic Floor muscles are shaped like a sling or hammock at the base of your torso, below your abdomen. They help hold everything up! It isn’t surprising how they become weak through the years.
To help strengthen it, try these pelvic floor exercises lying on your back and with your knees bent.
- Take a deep breath in
- Exhale slowly and draw your pelvic floor muscles into your body by means of contraction. Please note that this has to be done while you’re exhaling.
- Tip for women : Draw up area around vagina
- For men, draw up the testicles.
There is no harm in trying these exercises because they’re safe and has a success rate of 50%. They WORK!
Pamela White is a qualified and experienced Pilates exercises instructor and founder of My-Pilates-Exercises.com offering great free pelvic floor exercises, tips and techniques to help you feel great and improve your bladder control.
