Why Use Kegel Exercise Balls?

What are Kegel Exercise Balls?

Kegel exercise balls are specifically designed to help with Kegels: a type of exercise that helps to maintain and improve the pelvic floor muscles in both men and women.

For women, there are two forms of Kegel exercise balls; internal balls, which are placed into the vagina, and external, which are used outside the vagina. Both of these exercise balls are tremendously beneficial in enhancing and improving the vaginal muscle.

What are the main reasons for using them?

Reducing bladder weakness and improving continence

Continence is the ability to voluntarily hold urine in the bladder. You are said to have urinary incontinence if you have ever sneezed or coughed and felt a trickle of urine, or if you are unable to hold your urine. Although there can sometimes be more serious causes, the primary cause of incontinence is that the pelvic floor muscles are not strong enough to hold the urine in or support the bladder. Many people experience incontinence at some point in their lifetime, but most find it embarrassing and that is why few rarely seek treatment. Kegel balls help to strengthen and tone the muscles that control continence, thus reducing the risk of incontinence.

Improving sexual activity and enabling you to lead a more fulfilling sex life

In terms of sexual activity, Kegel balls can help in a way you may not have thought possible; better orgasms. For women in particular, when the vaginal muscles are toned, the sensation during sexual intercourse is much greater. In fact, vaginal muscles that are toned increase the strength of the orgasm because the more toned they are, the greater the contraction.

Why should you use them?

The balls are meant to aid the performance of Kegel exercises. When performing Kegel exercises without the use of the balls, you use your own strength in order to improve pelvic muscle tone. The problem with this is that toning the pelvic muscles can be a painstakingly slow process, and it can be hard to monitor your progress. However, when using Kegel exercise balls as part of your pelvic floor exercise routine, you are able to use the balls as markers of your progression – moving up to balls of different weight values as you further increase your tone and strength. The balls also have the added bonus that they increase your rate of progression, thus lowering your time for results.

What is a recommended Kegel exercise routine for women?

For a beginner, it is recommended that you start off by identifying your pelvic floor muscles. One of the ways that you can locate the muscles is during urination. When the flow of urine starts, try to stop it. This clenching sensation is your pelvic floor muscles tightening. Bear in mind that you should not this too often because it can cause urinary problems. Once you find the muscles, you can begin exercising.

It is sometimes possible to overwork the muscles, especially at first, so the exercise routine should only be done after you have a solid understanding of the muscles and have toned them with enough quick-clench sessions. It is best to start out at a slower pace.

Try buying balls with a cord for retrieval attached to them. If these become too easy to use, you can progress to metal balls. Insert a ball into your vagina and move it back and forth, using only your vaginal muscles. This is one of the best exercises for strengthening your pelvic floor. There are several exercises that can be done: each ranging in difficulty.

Beginners should insert the ball and be able to move it around, but keep your legs closed the whole time. To make this more challenging, you can sit on a large exercise ball and really feel your PC muscles working. Once you can comfortably do the kegel exercises in this position (and be warned, this make take a few months), you should try standing up with you feet shoulders width apart, and then try to hold the balls in place with your PC muscles. The most advanced way of doing kegel exercises is to do them whilst squatting. With your feet as far apart as possible, you should be able to use your vaginal muscles to move the exercise balls back and forth, whilst comfortably in this squatting position. It will take some time to be able to reach this level, but once you are able to do this, your incontinence issues and sex life will be greatly improved!

If you are unsure what to do, seek advice from a women’s health physiotherapist who can teach you how to do pelvic floor exercises.

How effective are Kegel Exercise Balls?

The effectiveness of the balls is entirely dependent on you. The more effort you put into regularly doing exercises with them, the more positive results you will see. When you get into a regular routine, you will see for yourself that the balls are extremely effective in reducing bladder weakness, improving continence and sexual activity. Kegel exercise balls are clinically proven to work, and follow the natural contour of the vagina which means they are easier to use.

What are the advantages of Kegel exercise balls over surgery?

Kegel exercise balls are by far the best non-invasive solution for vaginal tightening. Surgery is often thought to be the only option for vaginal tightening but this common misconception needs changing. Here is a list of some reasons why kegel exercise balls have the advantage when compared to surgery:

• Surgery is an extremely invasive procedure that can be painful and comes with its own risks of infection.

• Vaginal tightening is just one advantage of using Kegel exercise balls. They also help tighten the pelvic muscles responsible for urination and bladder control in women. Clearly, this is not the focus of vaginal tightening surgery.

• They are easy to use and don’t require a prescription to buy.

• Your vagina stretches when you give birth. It would obviously be impractical to have surgery to tighten your vagina every time you give birth.

• Vaginal tightening is considered a cosmetic procedure (often not covered by insurance) and therefore quite expensive since the entire cost would entirely come out of your pocket. With Kegel exercise balls, you don’t have to spend as much money because the balls are inexpensive and last a lifetime.

• They can be used by a variety of women ageing from 18 to 85, including those with medical conditions.

For almost all women, the advantages of using the balls are revolved around vaginal tightening and pelvic strengthening. As a result of this, both your sexual activity and bladder control are vastly improved. Invest in some kegel exercise balls today and reap the benefits for years to come.

Pelvic floor exercisers are recommended by the healthcare professionals we work with to their patients to help them strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, improve urinary incontinence and promote good sexual health.