Tag: abdominals


Aug
2015

Pelvic floor exercise progression: How to strengthen your Kegels

categories: Health, Pregnancy

First, make sure you know how to take care of you Kegel muscles daily!! If you feel ready to strengthen your Kegels at home, read below!

kegels, kegel muscles, pelvic floor muscles, physical therapy, postpartum, pregnancy

Kegel muscles, or pelvic floor muscles, are just like any other muscle in your body in a sense that contracting them against gravity is a greater chore than using gravity to your advantage. This is important to remember when you decide how to go about strengthening your kegels.

SIDELYING

kegels, kegel exercises, sleeping position, women's health, pelvic floor, pregnancy, postpartum

The position that is most helpful in contracting your Kegels is the sidelying position. Lie on your side with your top leg supported on pillows so that your hip is in a neutral position. Tighten your Kegel muscles as though you are stopping the flow of urine. I often cue people to imagine the pelvic floor is an elevator. Imagine ropes attached to your ribs. As you contract, the ropes are pulling the elevator (pelvic floor) toward your rib cage. Exhale as you are contracting.

If you are holding your breath, the opposite will happen–your pelvic floor will expand toward your feet (eek!) just like a parachute expands when it meets air resistance. This stretches the pelvic floor, making it hard to contract and can weaken it over time. Hold each contraction 5-10 seconds. Repeat 10-20 times.

(side note: If you feel like you can’t contract your pelvic floor in this position, please see a physical therapist! To see one, ask your doctor–possibly your obgyn–for an order to see a physical therapist who specializes in women’s health….even if you are male! They are the gurus of the pelvic floor. You can also see a PT through direct access.)

QUADRUPED

kegels, kegel muscles, pelvic floor muscles, physical therapy, postpartum, pregnancy

Another position that is “gravity-lessened” for the Kegel muscles is the quadruped position. On your hands and knees with your knees directly below your hips and your hands below your shoulders, contract your pelvic floor as described above while exhaling. Make sure your back is flat.

In this position, I also encourage you to contract your abdominal muscles as you contract your kegels. Do this by pulling your belly button toward your spine. Again, if you are holding your breath and/or bearing down, your stomach expands, and the increased volume actually stretches your pelvic floor and abdominals like a parachute stretches when it meets air resistance (aka don’t do that). Hold 5-10 seconds and repeat 10-20 times.

SITTING

kegels, kegel muscles, pelvic floor muscles, physical therapy, postpartum, pregnancy

It may take a few weeks, but once you are able to complete the above positions correctly, you can move to a sitting position for your Kegel work out. 😉 In this position, you are lifting your Kegels against gravity, so it is much more challenging. Contract your pelvic floor muscles by thinking of lifting them up toward your rib cage as described above. Hold 5-10 seconds and repeat 10-20 times.

STANDING

IMG_5971

Next, try to contract your Kegels in standing. Think of raising your pelvic floor up toward your ribs with the elevator ropes as described above as you exhale.

The most challenging way to contract and exercise your Kegels is to perform contractions during your normal movements, such as arising from a chair. Start by contracting the muscles in sitting and keeping them contracted as you move to stand.

If you are active in fitness and exercise, keep these tips in mind as you lift weights and move through your exercise routine. Remember, if you hold your breath, you are expanding your pelvic floor (like when a parachute meets air resistance) and stretching them out which can weaken the muscles over time.

(Feel free to leave a comment below (you can leave one anonymously!) or send an email to kayleemayblog at gmail dot com with any questions. If I get enough questions throughout this series, I will post a Q&A post to conclude it)

***The content of http://www.kayleemay.com is for informational purposes only. The information presented is not to be taken as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are having pain, or seeking medical advice, talk to your health care provider. Do not delay in seeking treatment because of information you have read on http://www.kayleemay.com. Taking recommendations presented on http://www.kayleemay.com is solely at your own risk***


Jun
2015

Diastasis Recti | Dealing with a common postpartum condition

categories: Exercise, Health, Pregnancy

diastasis recti, pregnancy, pregnancy abs,

Diastasis recti, a separation of your abdominal muscles, is a common condition during and after pregnancy.

The linea alba is a line of fibrous tissue between two sides of the rectus abdominis that runs vertically. When this muscle is stretched throughout pregnancy, there can be a physical separation or widening between the two sides of the abdominal muscle.

rectus abdomis, diastasis recti, linea alba, postpartum, pregnancy,

As outlined in previous posts, the abdominals act as a natural back brace for us. If there is weakness or separation in our natural back brace, a number of pain conditions arise. Unfortunately, diastasis recti is not always recognized early, and I see mothers of all ages in the clinic for hip pain, back pain, knee pain (etc, etc, etc) that arose from weak abdominals. (side note: Obgyns should just start referring women to physical therapists after any type of birth, right?)

I searched the web to find a quick video of how to tell if a diastasis recti is present. I found this video you can use to assess for the presence of this condition:

Let’s all freak out for a minute because we all just realized we have diastasis recti…

ok, I’m still freaking out…

still freaking out…

ok, now I am desperate to fix this!

How convenient there is a post right here about postpartum abdominal strengthening!

There is one thing to add to this strengthening program if you find that you have diastasis recti. Use your hands (or a brace, etc) to physically pull your abdominals together as you perform the exercises. In other words, push your abs together.

diastasis recti, pregnancy, pregnancy abs,

diastasis recti, pregnancy, pregnancy abs,

I want to note a few things you should most definitely NOT do if diastasis recti is present:

1. SIT UPS. Like, never. Never, ever do sit ups.

2. PILATES before you do this program.

3. YOGA positions where you are pushing your stomach out (aka abdominal breathing, dead bug, to name a few), yoga positions that STRETCH the abs (cobra), or anything on your hands and knees with poor abdominal control (cat, cow, sunbird).

4. LIFTING without engaging your abdominal muscles. This includes lifting your dear little (or big) baby.

5. Did I already say don’t do sit ups? Just don’t. If you want strong abs, do this.

diastasis recti, postpartum, pregnancy, abdominals, rectus abdominis

I strongly encourage you to seek help from a physical therapist if you have a significant diastasis recti. There is nothing like having an expert treat you one on one to prevent and treat pain. I am not speaking of a personal trainer or fitness guru, although they are helpful for many things. A physical therapist is a movement system expert with a physical therapy degree (7 years of post high school education for a doctorate degree) and has been up close and personal with the rectus abdominis and line alba a la cadaver labs. TMI?! I just want to be clear that seeing a personal trainer is NOT the equivalent.

Your health insurance may help you out with the cost of physical therapy. If you don’t want to see a doctor first to get an order for physical therapy, call your local PT clinic and see if they have direct access. If you don’t know what direct access is, please read my explanation here.

Happy abdominal strengthening, ladies!

If you are interested in more pregnancy and postpartum health tips, read my previous posts!

The Do’s and Don’ts of Breastfeeding: How to prevent musculoskeletal pain

Postpartum Abdominal Strengthening

Pregnancy and Back Pain

Top 3 Exercises Every Pregnant Woman Should Do

Return to Running After Pregnancy

***The content of http://www.kayleemay.com is for informational purposes only. The information presented is not to be taken as professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are having pain, or seeking medical advice, talk to your health care provider. Do not delay in seeking treatment because of information you have read on http://www.kayleemay.com. Taking recommendations presented on http://www.kayleemay.com is solely at your own risk***