My abs are tight. My legs are toned. But what about my lady parts?!

We thought we’d help and every Thursday our friend Dr. Lissa Rankin will be answering your questions. The ones you couldn’t ask your doctor in person. Just leave your questions in the comments, or send em over to us. (We’ll keep it all anonymous for you.) Dr. Lissa will answer anything – really, anything – about sex and other lady things. Don’t be shy; she’s waiting for ya!

Q: Everyone is always talking about Kegel exercises. Do those things really help? And do we really need to do them? I’ve had a boyfriend for 3 years (and we’ve been having regular sex for the entire time), so is it possible that I’m not as “toned” down there as I could be? Is that something I need to worry about?

A: Do the rest of you know what a Kegel exercise is?  It’s an exercise to strengthen the pelvic floor. To do Kegel exercises, contract and release the muscles surrounding the vaginal opening. If you’re not sure what I mean, run to the restroom, pee, and try to stop your urine mid-stream. Those are the muscles we’re talking about here.

How can Kegels help you? Let’s break it down into three ways- sexual enhancement, prevention, and treatment.  Because these muscles tone the vagina, they can be used to enhance intercourse. By contracting these muscles, you may offer additional pleasure for you and your lover, especially if you’ve had a few babies and things have become a bit loosely goosey down there.

What about prevention? As we age, our tissue gets weaker and our risk of pelvic prolapse and urinary incontinence increases.  What’s pelvic prolapse? Well, believe it or not, your uterus, bladder, vagina, and rectum can all sort of fall out. I’ve seen uteruses hanging between people’s legs and herniations of the bladder and rectum into the vagina. This looseness in the vagina can lead to incontinence, pelvic pressure, difficulty with urinating and having bowel movements, and a whole host of other unpleasant symptoms. Kegel exercises help prevent pelvic prolapse and incontinence.  By toning these muscles, you help keep things tucked up inside, where they belong. Read More »

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