It seems to make perfect sense, right?
I leak, and I want my muscle to keep me from leaking, so I should kegel?
You should not. What you should do is teach your deep core muscles to work in coordination with your breath. You should also learn what bracing strategies are most important for the task at hand.
The deep core is made up of 4 muscle groups that have to contract and relax and work in a coordinated way with the breath. When everything is working properly, there are no symptoms. But when things get out of whack, there can be a whole host of symptoms.
The reason kegels aren’t always appropriate is because leaking can happen when the pelvic floor is weak (not engaging) OR when it engages at the wrong time (poor coordination) OR when it can’t relax (hypertonic). If kegels are your go-to, but the problem doesn’t fit that solution, you could be making your issue worse!
The solution is to find a good pelvic floor physical therapist near you to properly assess and diagnose the issue. Then you are on the road to living leak free.
If you are looking for pelvic floor physical therapy in Paducah, give us a shout! We’d love to help you!
Dr. Rachel Atufunwa, PT, DPT