Pelvic Floor Exercises

Pelvic Floor Exercises

“Pelvic floor exercises benefit people of all ages, but they
are especially important during pregnancy, after childbirth
and during perimenopause and after menopause”.1

Umbrella

What may the Pelvic Floor Exercises Umbrella include?

Depending on the Source (DotS) this Umbrella may include:

  • Kegel Exercises
  • Kegels
  • Pelvic Floor Exercises
  • Pelvic Floor Muscle Control
  • Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Exercises
  • Pelvic Muscle Exercises (PMEs)
  • Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises

Pelvic Floor Muscles

What are the pelvic floor muscles?

DotS the definition of the pelvic floor muscles may vary. In Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women: Understanding the Pelvic Floor [+ Images] Continence Health Australia’s definition is:

“The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and tissues inside the pelvis that provides essential support for your:

  • Bladder – where urine (wee) is stored
  • Bowel – where faeces (poo) is formed
  • Uterus (womb)”.2

Pelvic Floor Exercises

What are pelvic floor exercises or Kegel exercises?

DotS the definition of pelvic floor exercises may vary. In Kegel Exercises: What Is A Kegel Exercise? the (United States) Cleveland Clinic explain:

“Kegel exercises (also called pelvic floor exercises) help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Your pelvic floor muscles support organs in your pelvis, like your bladder, bowel and vagina. Your pelvic floor muscles hold your organs in place while also assisting with bodily functions like peeing, pooping and sex. Kegels involve tightening and then releasing the muscles in your pelvic floor to strengthen them.

Doing Kegels can help with issues such as:

  • Urinary incontinence (leaking pee)
  • Urge incontinence (an urgent need to pee)
  • Fecal incontinence (leaking poop)
  • Pelvic organ prolapse (pelvic organs sagging or bulging into your vagina)

Kegels can also improve your sexual health and help improve your orgasms. Men or people assigned male at birth (AMAB) and women or people assigned female at birth (AFAB) can benefit from Kegel exercises”.3

Benefits

What are the benefits of pelvic floor exercises?

In Bladder Health: How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles the (Australian) Jean Hailes for Women’s Health (JH) explain:

Pelvic Floor Exercises“Pelvic floor exercises benefit people of all ages, but they are especially important:

  • During pregnancy
  • After childbirth
  • During perimenopause and after menopause”.4


In Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Exercises: Information the (United States) MedlinePlus’ explain:

“Pelvic floor muscle training exercises are recommended for:

  • Women with urinary stress incontinence
  • Men with urinary stress incontinence, most often after prostate surgery
  • People who have fecal incontinence”.5

In Kegel Exercises: What Are Kegel Exercises? the (United States) National Association for Continence (NAFC) include a diagram and elaborate on why:

“Kegels or kegel exercises (also known as pelvic floor exercises) are one of the best ways to improve and maintain bowel and bladder functions. Kegels can be done by both men and women to increase the strength of your pelvic floor and may help to improve or even eliminate bladder leakage”.6

Identifying the Correct Muscles

How may women identify the correct muscles?

In Women: Pelvic Floor Exercise the Continence Health Australia’s, Pelvic Floor First note:

“The first step in performing pelvic floor muscle exercises is to identify the correct muscles”.7

Then, in Women: Pelvic Floor Exercise – How Can I Find My Pelvic Floor Muscles? Method 1 – Stopping the Flow Pelvic Floor First continue:

“There are several ways which may help you to correctly identify the different parts of your pelvic floor muscles. One way is to try to stop or slow the flow of urine midway through emptying the bladder. Stopping the flow of urine repeatedly on the toilet is not an exercise, but a way of identifying your pelvic floor muscles. This should only be done to identify which muscles are needed for bladder control.

If you can, stop the flow of urine over the toilet for a second or two, then relax and finish emptying without straining. This ‘stop-test’ may help you identify the muscles around the front passage which control the flow of urine. It is not recommended as a regular exercise”.8

How Do I Do

How do I do pelvic floor exercises?

Examples of how to do pelvic floor exercises are included in:


Pelvic Floor Exercises

Tips

What are some tips about performing pelvic floor exercises properly?

In Kegel Exercises: A Step By Step Guide for Women on How To Do Kegel Exercises the NAFC elaborate on:

Pelvic Floor Exercises“So, how do you know you are doing kegels properly? Like any exercise, it can be difficult to know at first. But with a daily commitment, it becomes instinctive. Here are a few tips for doing kegel exercises:

  • Which muscles do I use?…
  • How many should I do per day?…
  • Work both your fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers…
  • Things to watch out for…
  • Repeat your exercises 3 times a day…
  • Give yourself encouragement…”.9

Suitable or Not

Are pelvic floor exercises suitable for everyone?

The JH note:

“Pelvic floor strengthening exercises aren’t suitable for everyone. If you have vaginal or pelvic pain, a pelvic floor physiotherapist can help you with a program to relax these muscles”.10

Health Care Provider

What if I would like help with pelvic floor exercises?

In Kegel Exercises – A Step By Step Guide: Signs of Pelvic Floor Strength Improvement the NAFC encourage us to seek help:

“It’s crucial to remember that incontinence and pelvic floor symptoms almost always have solutions and shouldn’t be shrugged off as normal. You can try these exercises regardless of how long you have had your symptoms. Even if you have been experiencing leakage for as short as 1 month or as long as 10 years, it is never too late to try Kegels”.11

In Bladder Health: How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles – Tips for Exercising Your Pelvic Floor Muscles the JH explain:

“If you’ve tried pelvic floor exercises for a couple of months and aren’t seeing any improvements, it’s important to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist. They can explain the right techniques and exercises for you.
It will take 4 to 6 months of doing pelvic floor exercises correctly to see improvements”.12 

Health Topics A-Z

Where may I find Health Topics A-Z related to Pelvic Floor Exercises?

In Health Topics A-Z you may find:

Health Topics A-Z

Links

Where may I find Links related to Pelvic Floor Exercises?

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Links

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New or Updated

  1. 5 Pelvic Floor Exercises for Anyone and Everyone [+ Video]
  2. About Pelvic Floor Disorders
  3. Bladder Health
  4. Bladder Leakage: How To Talk To Your Doctor
  5. Bladder Training: Tips and Techniques To Regain Control
  6. Bladder and Bowel Health
  7. Continence.org.au [Continence Health Australia]
  8. EMAS On-Demand Webinars [European Menopause and Andropause Society] [Multiply Languages]: Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM): Diagnosis and Evidence-Based Management
  9. Fact Sheets, Patient Summaries and Downloads
  10. Fact Sheets, Patient Summaries and Downloads: Additional Downloadable Content – First Visit With A Urogynecologist
  11. Fact Sheets, Patient Summaries and Downloads: Additional Downloadable Content – Talking to Your Doctor
  12. Fact Sheets, Patient Summaries and Downloads: Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises and Bladder Training
  13. Fact Sheets, Patient Summaries and Downloads: Pelvic Organ Prolapse
  14. Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause
  15. Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM)
  16. Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause: AUA/SUFU/AUGS Guideline (2025)
  17. Glossary
  18. How Incontinence Affects Your Style Choices: Absorbent Products for the Way You Live
  19. How Physical Therapy Can Treat Incontinence
  20. How and Why To Do Pelvic Floor Exercises
  21. Kegel Exercises
  22. Kegel Exercises
  23. Kegel Exercises for Men: Understand the Benefits
  24. Kegel Exercises – Self-Care
  25. Kegel Exercises: A How-To Guide for Women
  26. Kegel Exercises: A Step By Step Guide for Women on How To Do Kegel Exercises [+ Video]
  27. Menopause and Incontinence
  28. NAFC’s Review of 3 Popular Kegels Apps [National Association for Continence, United States]
  29. Online Events [International Menopause Society]: IMS Partnership Symposia Series – It Is Not Just Incontinence – Common Bladder Problems Around Menopause
  30. Online Events [International Menopause Society]: Past Webinars – 2025: The Burn, the Itch, the Pain, the Urge: GSM In Women
  31. Pelvic Exam Techniques
  32. Pelvic Floor Disorder Awareness [+ Video]
  33. Pelvic Floor Exercises
  34. Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women [+ Video]
  35. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training As Treatment for Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
  36. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Exercises
  37. Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Pelvic Floor Support
  38. Pelvicfloorfirst.org.au [Pelvic Floor First]
  39. The Pelvic Floor
  40. Urinary Incontinence
  41. Urinary Incontinence: 10 Ways To Stop Leaks [+ Video]
  42. Voices for PFD [Pelvic Floor Disorders]
  43. Video Series: Continence FAQs – FAQ #1: Why Do I Leak When I Cough, Sneeze or Laugh?
  44. Video Series: Continence FAQs – FAQ #2: How Much Urine Leakage Is Normal?
  45. Video Series: Continence FAQs – FAQ #3: What About Bowel Leakage?
  46. What Women Need To Know About Their Pelvic Floor
    Pelvic Floor Disorders
  47. Women: Pelvic Floor Exercise
  48. Working Your Pelvic Floor
  49. World Continence Week 2026 [15-21 June 2026]Pelvic Floor Exercises

Sources

Where may I find the Sources quoted?

You may find the Sources quoted at:

Sources

  1. Bladder Health: How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-topics/bladder-health/#section-how-to-strengthen-your-pelvic-floor-muscles Accessed: 21 June 2026
  2. Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women: Understanding the Pelvic Floor. Continence Health Australia https://www.continence.org.au/living-with-incontinence/pelvic-floor-exercises/pelvic-floor-exercises-for-women/ Accessed: 21 June 2026
  3. Kegel Exercises: What Is A Kegel Exercise? Last Reviewed: 01 February 2023. Cleveland Clinic https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/14611-kegel-exercises Accessed: 21 June 2026
  4. Bladder Health: How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-topics/bladder-health/#section-how-to-strengthen-your-pelvic-floor-muscles Accessed: 21 June 2026
  5. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Exercises: Information. Review Date: 01 October 2024. MedlinePlus https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003975.htm Accessed: 21 June 2026
  6. Kegel Exercises: What Are Kegel Exercises? National Association for Continence https://www.nafc.org/kegel-exercises Accessed: 21 June 2026
  7. Women: Pelvic Floor Exercise. Pelvic Floor First https://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/pages/pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises-for-women.html Accessed: 21 June 2026
  8. Women: Pelvic Floor Exercise – How Can I Find My Pelvic Floor Muscles? Method 1 – Stopping the Flow. Pelvic Floor First https://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/pages/pelvic-floor-muscle-exercises-for-women.html Accessed: 21 June 2026
  9. Kegel Exercises: A Step By Step Guide for Women on How To Do Kegel Exercises. National Association for Continence https://www.nafc.org/kegel-exercises Accessed: 21 June 2026
  10. Bladder Health: How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-topics/bladder-health/#section-how-to-strengthen-your-pelvic-floor-muscles Accessed: 21 June 2026
  11. Kegel Exercises: Signs of Pelvic Floor Strength Improvement. National Association for Continence https://www.nafc.org/kegel-exercises Accessed: 21 June 2026
  12. Bladder Health: How To Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles – Tips for Exercising Your Pelvic Floor Muscles. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-topics/bladder-health/#section-how-to-strengthen-your-pelvic-floor-muscles Accessed: 21 June 2026
Topic Last Updated: 21 June 2026 – Topic Last Reviewed: 21 June 2026

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