The Best Exercises To Treat Urinary Incontinence

Kegels are the gold standard when it comes to strengthening your pelvic floor. Not doing them, says Amadea Kezar, physiotherapist and owner of Montreal clinic Ask Physiothérapie, would be like “trying to strengthen your bicep without bending your elbow.”

How to do Kegels

Imagine there’s a marble at the entrance of your vagina. Picture your vaginal muscles closing over the marble and then lifting it upwards. (To check your form, place a finger near your perineum; if you can feel the muscle contracting, you’re activating the right muscles.) And don’t forget to breathe—your diaphragm and pelvic muscles work in tandem. Aim for three sets of 10 to 15 contractions per day.

That said, there are other exercises in addition to Kegels that can help strengthen this area. Here are three she recommends.

Happy Baby Pose

(Photo: Christie Vuong)

“Excess tension in the pelvic floor puts the muscles in a shortened position, so they don’t contract properly to close at the right time,” explains Kezar. “This might cause the bladder to be over-reactive.” This yoga standard can help re-establish the full rest- ing length of the pelvic floor muscle, so that it can contract with power through its full range of motion.

1. Lie flat on your back on a mat. Bring your knees toward your chest with your legs at a 90-degree angle, the soles of your feet facing the ceiling.
2. Keeping your head and shoulders on the floor, reach forward and grab your feet or the backs of your thighs. Spread your knees apart, shifting them toward your armpits.
3. Relax the anus and imagine you’re unrolling the tailbone on the floor. Flex your feet, inhaling deeply. Stay in this position or gently rock from side to side.
4. Repeat three times, holding for 30 seconds each round.

Pelvic Floor Contraction Enhancements

(Photo: Christie Vuong)

“Incontinence can happen from a lack of coordination, where you’re having a difficult time finding the proper muscles to contract,” says Kezar. These combined abdominal and inner thigh contractions can help enhance the pelvic floor muscles.

1. Lie on your back on the floor or on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground.
2. Place a yoga block between your knees.
3. Exhale and pull the pelvic floor inward (anus pulls in, vagina closes). Simultaneously squeeze the block between your knees and hollow your abdomen below the navel toward the floor.
4. Hold the combined contraction for five seconds, release and wait 10 seconds.
5. Repeat 10 times.

Diaphragmatic Breathing

(Photo: Christie Vuong)

Along with the dia- phragm, the transverse abdominis and the multifidus, the pelvic floor is part of a group of muscles known as your core. When you inhale, your diaphragm descends, along with your pelvic floor. When you exhale, they rise—there is a piston-like movement between the two. This breathing exercise helps restore that relationship.

1. While sitting on a chair or stability ball, notice the pressure on the perineum (the band between the anus and the vaginal entrance).
2. Keeping your shoulders down, inhale deeply for a count of three, allowing your ribs and abdominal muscles to expand.
3. Feel the pressure growing in the vagina, the anus and the perineal area.
4. Exhale for a count of three, feeling that pressure lessen.
5. Repeat 10 times per day.

Learn more about urinary incontinence