Connect
← Return to Incontinence Improvement with Pelvic PT?
Discussion
Incontinence Improvement with Pelvic PT?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (43)Comment receiving replies
Your pelvic floor therapist nailed it: learn to do them properly before doing them, because improper kegels can cause problems. And one of the most important things is the release, if you don't release then you aren't training anything. I presume your therapist has had you engage and release with a digital exam (finger in the bum)?
Replies to "Your pelvic floor therapist nailed it: learn to do them properly before doing them, because improper..."
Connect
she did not do the digital finger or recommend it She did feel my pelvic floor muscle contracting and confirmed that I was activating the right muscle group.
What she is training me on now is doing the kegel contraction while exhaling (I was doing it like I do many exercises, while inhaling or holding my breath.) which is wrong. She showed me how the pelvic floor muscles open up (release) more when I take a deep (belly) breath. So I try to relax my pelvic floor muscles as much as I can; take a few deep breaths; and then take a deep breath and while exhaling do the kegel. This provides that the muscle has a wide range of motion compared to what I was doing. She has me doing three sets of ten each day ( along with some other exercises)
\
In terms of a digital exam (or probe) I am not opposed to this. however, my perineum area is still somewhat sore ( I guess from the surgery), I can feel it if I sit to much ( like what you would feel if you were on a hard bike seat for a long time) and my surgeon told me to take stool softeners so I do not get constipated. I took this to mean in some way that I did not want to disrupt or irritate my anus while healing from the surgery. This is an assumption but the therapist tended to think it makes sense
I really was not doing the release right so you are 100% right about that. I was advised to start the kegels a month prior to surgery . I did that with a vengeance. However, I did not have any instructions and found some sources on line, many of which pretty much said do them with strong exertion so I was surely doing them wrong and perhaps too much When i got my catheter out I was doing them wrong until I ran across Michelle Kenway who has some good videos and good information.
I am very glad I have an individual therapist now. I will absolutely do the work including relearning how to do Kegels with better form.
It would be nice if I could just steadily build up mileage like swimming or running or biking (up my workouts 5-10 % a week and get better results,. but I think this journey is going to be a little less linear.