If you’re interested in starting a Kegel practice or are looking for ways to elevate your current pelvic floor therapy routine, then you may be wondering whether Kegel trainers could help. Kegel exercises have the potential to strengthen the pelvic floor—the muscles that support your uterus, bladder, small intestine, and rectum—according to the Mayo Clinic. Your pelvic floor is crucial for controlling your bladder and bowel movements. If you experience constipation or have trouble holding your pee, for example, then depending on the root cause, strengthening your pelvic floor muscles may help, says Lisa Tate, MSPT, a pelvic floor physical therapist at Penn Medicine.
“Sometimes things go wrong and your pelvic floor struggles to either hold things in or let things out,” Tate tells SELF. Medically, this is known as pelvic floor dysfunction, meaning your pelvic floor muscles have trouble relaxing and contracting as they should. This can happen when your pelvic floor muscles are either tight (called high tone) or loose (low tone). There are a number of factors that can cause either high-tone or low-tone pelvic floor dysfunction, such as pregnancy, trauma, or chronic constipation. (Some research suggests that people who repeatedly and excessively hold their urine or stool may be more prone to high-tone dysfunction over long periods of time.) Common pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms are similar regardless of muscle tone and include pain in your lower back, pelvis, or genitals; constipation; and trouble holding your bowel or urine movements, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Kegel exercises are one potential tool for addressing pelvic dysfunction. But beyond that, developing a stronger and better-functioning pelvic floor may even help some people have stronger orgasms, the Cleveland Clinic says.
Although you certainly don’t need any gadgets to start a pelvic floor practice, some people like the idea of using Kegel trainers, which are small weighted devices that you hold inside your vaginal canal to exercise your pelvic floor muscles. They range in shape and size and can offer a variety of features such as Bluetooth connection so you can get phone reminders to do your exercises. Each product will typically come with instructions on how to use it, but you may want to use some personal lubricant when applying to avoid any pain or vaginal tears. (Here’s how to pick lube that’s right for you.)
If you’re interested in adding a device to your Kegel routine or you’re considering starting a consistent Kegel practice and want to know if a tool might help, we asked pelvic floor experts for their advice on using Kegel trainers. Here are four things they said you should know.
1. Kegel trainers aren’t for everyone.
If you want to do Kegels because of any pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, or bowel control concerns, then it’s best to schedule an appointment with a physician who can help you determine if Kegels are right with your situation. “Kegel trainers are designed to help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, but the first step is figuring out if your pelvic floor muscles need to be strengthened or if you’ve got some other type of pelvic floor condition that you need to address,” Tate says. “Pelvic floor muscle problems come in lots of manifestations.”
As Tate explains, if your pelvic floor condition isn’t due to pelvic floor weakness (that low-tone issue we mentioned above), doing Kegels or using a Kegel trainer may not offer the results you’re looking for.
Elizabeth Kusturiss, a certified registered nurse practitioner at Virtua Sexual Wellness & Pelvic Health hospital in New Jersey, estimates that roughly one in six women actually have high-tone pelvic floor dysfunction. (This data is from the late ’90s, but newer research still cites this figure as a good estimate. As with pretty much all things related to sexual and reproductive health, this number may even be an underestimate.)
Since low-tone and high-tone pelvic floor dysfunction often have similar symptoms, such as urinary leakage, it’s best not to assume you just have weak pelvic floor muscles, says Kusturiss.
“If you have tight pelvic floor muscles, doing Kegels can cause increased pain and symptoms like muscle spasms, generalized pelvic ache and discomfort, and urethral irritation,” Kusturiss says.
With both high-tone and low-tone pelvic floor muscles, it’s best to talk with a medical expert who can help you determine the best treatment plan for your situation. Kusturiss recommends seeking out a pelvic floor therapist who is experienced in assessing low-tone and high-tone pelvic floor muscles if you can. She suggests browsing the American Physical Therapy Association website for providers and reading patient reviews for the physical therapist you’re interested in seeing.
Keep in mind that even if doing Kegels on your own is helpful, they might be just one part of your treatment. For example, people with severe constipation may benefit from a more robust treatment plan that includes medication and pelvic floor physical therapy, explains Dr. Millheiser. This makes it even more important to consult with a doctor.
2. Kegel trainers may help you with proper form.
Leah Sharon Millheiser, M.D., an ob-gyn and sexual health specialist at Stanford Health Care, says that Kegels can be deceivingly challenging. “The assumption is it’s easy. You go to the bathroom, you stop that stream of urine, and that’s how you identify your Kegel muscles,” Dr. Millheiser tells SELF. “But a lot of people can’t figure out those muscles. Some people don’t realize where those muscles are, what they’re supposed to be doing, or how hard to squeeze.”
If you have a vagina, you can try to identify your pelvic floor muscles by pretending that you’re trying not to pass gas while inserting one finger into your vagina, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (USNLM). Tighten your muscles the same way you would if you were holding in your urine and then relax those same muscles. If you’re doing Kegels properly, you should feel the muscles around your finger tighten. The muscles in your thighs, buttocks, and abdomen should be relaxed, the USNLM explains.
Once you’ve identified the right muscles to contract, you can develop a routine (we’ll cover how to do that in a bit). The tactile sensation from using a lower-tech option like Kegel weights may help you with form, and there are also some “smart” Kegel devices or trainers that offer extra guidance. Generally, these use Bluetooth and a smartphone app to track your muscle movements and give you feedback to help with your form, explains Dr. Millheiser. “If a Kegel trainer is giving you feedback, it tells you whether you’re squeezing the right muscles and can give you a signal of where you should be contracting,” Dr. Millheiser says.
If you really want to be sure you’re doing Kegels the right way, Dr. Millheiser suggests scheduling an appointment with your gynecologist if you have one. During a pelvic exam, the doctor can talk you through properly contracting the muscles and checking to make sure you’re doing it correctly.
3. Kegel trainers can help you establish a consistent routine.
Whether seeing your Kegel trainer in the bathroom offers a visual reminder or you just enjoy using a gadget, Dr. Millheiser says that a Kegel trainer may help you develop consistency with your practice. And some products have the added benefit of including apps that send you alerts and notifications when it’s time to do your workouts and offer data on your progress (useful if you’re a person who’d want a phone reminder to take your birth control).
“Trainers can be helpful if someone needs that motivation and routine,” Tate says. “It can be helpful to establish your routine and have data, which may make you more compliant.”
To maximize your consistency, Dr. Millheiser suggests finding one trainer you like and sticking with it.
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According to Dr. Millheiser, it’s imperative to do Kegels regularly and consistently if you want a chance of seeing results. There is no one magic schedule that everyone should follow. For instance, the USNLM recommends doing three sets of 10 Kegels each day, but you can work up to something in that range. Dr. Millheiser suggests starting with 15 reps of tightening your muscles for 3 to 5 seconds, then releasing for 5 seconds. You can begin by doing this set once a day, with or without a Kegel trainer. You can then move up to two or three daily reps of 15 as you get more comfortable with the regimen. Of course, you can always start with fewer reps if you feel more comfortable doing so.
4. Kegel trainers don’t provide instant results.
Just as it takes time for you to build muscles in other areas of your body, it will take a little bit for you to build up your pelvic floor muscles. Performing three sets of 10 Kegels daily can add strength to your pelvic floor muscles in four to six weeks, according to the USNLM. If you have any pelvic floor conditions, like urinary incontinence, you may see some improvement within six months of starting a routine, says Dr. Millheiser (ideally under a health professional’s guidance). However, everyone is different, and how quickly you see results depends on your particular situation. If you don’t have any pelvic floor symptoms, then you may not notice any major changes. But with correct and consistent Kegels, you’re likely still strengthening your pelvic floor muscles, which may help you prevent issues like incontinence in the future.
As long as you aren’t substituting medical treatment with Kegels, the exercise can be a good way to try to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. And if you want to start a Kegel practice and enjoy using gadgets, a trainer can make the experience more enjoyable and keep you motivated (remember that any changes from a Kegel practice will come gradually and with consistent use).
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