2nd PT to have me do kegels

[musiclover]

Ugh! My HMO had me go to a new PT last week who is supposed to be really good with pelvic floor problems. She talked me into doing kegels in order to train the muscles to relax further. So by contracting them for a few seconds, you fatigue them, and then when you relax them, you can relax them further than they were before. Anyway, her explanation seemed to make sense. But now this week I'm not doing so well. The muscles are so tight now and hurting. I'm having trouble starting a urine stream and I feel a lot of tension and pain. I really don't think that was a good idea. That was the second PT who had me do that, and it still does not work! Why do they all believe that helps?!

[ICNDonna]

Kegels are not usually good for an IC patient.

Donna

[kadi]

My physical therapist had me do them also = flare. I was really sorry that evening.
Went back & refused to do them again. I also took her an article saying they are often not good for IC patients. Aside from that, however, the physical therapy has been super helpful in reducing my IC pain, re-starting exercise for overall fitness, reducing my menstrual cramps & constipation also. I asked my physical therapist to mainly focus on exercises I can do independently at home or at the gym, since once school starts this Fall, it will be hard to get in for appts.

[dg2901]

A strong pelvic floor is very important; this is where the Kegel exercises come in to play. Like your PT explained to you, the 2 PTs i've seen explained the same thing. I didnt realize how weak my pelvic floor was until going to PT and not being able to contract and hold for more than a couple of seconds. I was to do them until fatigue set in which in turn helped relax the pelvic floor (i was also suffering from PFD due to the having the constant urge to urinate). I also find that at the end of urination if I do a couple of Kegels it helps to relax me enough to where I can completely empty my bladder.

I guess we all react differently. This is just my story/experience. As with anything if it hurts you dont do it.

Good luck!
D

[Charisse]

Kegels kill me and my GYN keeps telling me to do them because of my bladder prolapsing just slightly but he doesn't understand I'd rather have my bladder falling out my vagina than have IC pain.

[motherof4]

If you have weak pelvic floor muscles then kegals are what you need to do to strengthen them so that you have control of your bladder when coughing,sneezing,etc.If you have like me severely strong muscles that are tight constantly kegals are the worst thing to do it only makes you feel worse instead you should try to relax the muscles by doing yoga or pilates and practice relaxing the muscles.I also was told to never ever lean over a public bathroom to urinate you should always line the toilet with paper and sit upright so that you don't strain your muscles when you go to the bathroom.

[kadi]

My pelvic floor muscles were (according to my physical therapist) weak & crampy, but kegels were awful & made things much much worse.

[Cassaundra]

I could not do kegels at first because my pelvic floor was WAY too tight/strong.

After stretching it out, I am able to do kegels. When I cannot due them, I know that I need to stretch it out again.

[snow_melt]

I think that a PT who starts with Kegels doesn't understand IC pain. My PT has not had me do any Kegels, only gentle stretching and soft tissue manipulation.
Kegels when done on a healthy person strengthen the muscles that support our pelvic organs, but Kegels for an IC patient inflame the area and allow the muscles to further tighten in response to pain or urgency.
I would explain that the Kegels are making your pain worse, and that you need to stretch the muscles before they can be strengthened.
I have heard the 'fatigue the muscle' argument before, and although it seems to teach control for women without IC, it never seems to help a woman with IC. Our muscles need special training in how to relax. One exercise my PT really stresses is the 'pelvic floor drop,' which releases the pelvic muscles by dropping (or releasing) them down like a bowl. It is better explained by the book Heal Pelvic Pain, or your PT.
I hope you feel better!

[musiclover]

I just posted an update on another thread, but I thought I should update it here in case anyone reads it. For a week after doing kegels I was in pain and my muscles felt tight. I quit doing them for a week and went back in and my biofeedback score was great. My resting rate dropped by a couple of points. Maybe the technique she used actually did help in my case. I'm not sure if the kegels were why, and I don't recommend them without being under the care of a knowledgeable PT. But I think they did actually help to loosen things up in the long run.

[bjt]

Hi folks--I haven't been here in quite some time, but I thought I'd take a moment to jump in here. I've spent a fair amount of time with two different PT groups that specialize in IC (Beyond Basics and Duffy, both in NYC. Beyond Basics is the Amy Stein group, she wrote "Heal Pelvic Pain")... Both of them had me do a combination of stretching and kegels. Both of them believe that even for IC patients, in order to get those tight muscles to release, you need to tighten them up and then release, tighten and release (which is bascially kegels) until the muscles can release on their own. It kinda sucked at first, but it definitely helped me in the long run.

After many years of just IC treatments (which gave me unpredictable and mediocre results), I have found more relief from a combination of this PT work and taking low doses of antibiotics as a preventative--these treatments seem really old fashioned to me, but they are working. So, while it might not be for everyone, kegels can help some some of us IC folks as part of an overall routine.