Are Kegels Worthwhile?

Hi Mary. I may prostate cancer patient that is currently going through pelvic floor therapy so that I don’t have to go to the bathroom 3 to 5 times a night and don’t have to go every hour or so. I also am going so that I don’t leak when I do something strange like lift up by heavy grocery bag.

This person might be well respected as a surgeon but I have ZERO respect for his opinion. What an uncaring man. Personally I’d look for another surgeon.

I'm 70 and had bilateral NS RALP 2 months ago. I heard about kegals both on this site and from my surgeons resident MD who spent a considerable amount of time answering questions and who strongly suggested starting kegals as soon as possible. After that conversation, I immediately started them which was about a month before the surgery and resumed them after surgery when I was told I could. Other than a couple of mistakes as I've figured out a few things after surgery, I've been completely continent since the catheter came out. Obviously I can't know if the kegals helped since I started them even before the surgery. But I do know the value of exercise and it is logical to me that kegals would help strengthen the remaining muscles necessary for continence. I am NOT a medical professional nor do I have any special training, so I can't say for certain if I would have been continent without them or if not if I would have become continent over time. But frankly, each "session" of kegals I do now only takes me 4 minutes, and at this point I'm doing them twice a day. That's a pretty small price to pay even if they only "sped up" my continence. I haven't considered if and when I can stop doing them; that's something I need to research and try to figure out what I think will work for me. For now I'm assuming I should probably continue them into the indefinite future. At this point, for me they're kind of like brushing and flossing my teeth; just some minor maintenance to (hopefully) avoid something else more troublesome down the road. Of course, all this is just my 2 bit opinion. Best of luck to you and your husband.

I religiously practiced Kegels 4-5 times a day in the 6 week period leading up to my surgery and feel like it was essential in my recovery. I had no leakage following removal of catheter or in the 4 weeks since the surgery other than very minor issues (getting up too fast or sneezing but, again, it's minor).
Best wishes!

All study based data refutes the surgeon’s statement. Logically, if the muscle affecting continence post RP is strengthened (in the correct way), continence would improve. There certainly are people for whom muscle strengthening exercises have not improved the muscle function sufficiently to improve continence, but my understanding is that these occurences correlate with age and any muscle damage from the RP surgery.

Kegel exercises were extremely important to my recovery after RP.
I was fortunate to have been able to squeeze 1 visit in prior to RP, which was really helpful and had a few sessions postop (no Kegels with the catheter in place).
There is a correct way to perform Kegels and I benefited greatly from professional instruction.
Good luck.

My surgeon emphasized the need to do Kegels. I started doing Kegels for the six weeks leading up to my surgery. I did them while I had the catheter in, even though I found out later I didn’t need to. I continued to do them religiously after the catheter was removed. I had ZERO incontinence issues. If your doctor says “it can’t hurt” is only response, I’d question his wisdom. Best of luck as you move forward.

Hello, how long do you do Kegel exercises?

Hello, how long did you do Kegel exercises before the operation? How long is each time after the operation? Thank you

I did not have surgery, but opted for ADT and SBRT radiation. My urologist and RO both suggested pelvic floor exercises/Kegels to work those muscles to help avoid potential issues down the road and during treatment. As a practical matter, from what my urologist told me, most men do not exercise those muscles routinely, and they may develop continence issues down the road, even w/o PCa.

Once you get going, they are easy to do almost anywhere, such as sitting at a desk, laying in bed or you're stuck at a red light. You may want to check with a physical therapist who works with PCa patients to get more intel. Good luck to you both.

I feel that you are very lucky to have no incontinence so soon. I want to know how long each Kegel exercise was before your surgery?