Pelvic floor aids

[Frieda86]

I desperately need to deal with my pelvic floor and leaks.
Ive seen the weights that you can use. What do you actually do with them and do they work?
If anyone has any recommendations id be really grateful.

I would suggest you get a referral to a specialist or go and see a pelvic floor physio before you do anything. You need to know what is causing the issues you are having before you can fix or improve things.

A physio is the best first step, but if kegels or whatever are the next step then I use Perifit, which you insert then play games on your phone. You squeeze the muscles to jump or eat fish and so on. It keeps me interested!

Thank you for the replies. I hadnt even thought of a physio. I just assumed the answer would be pelvic floor things. What other options could there be?

Hi OP!

There are lots of reasons you might have trouble with your PF.

Strength or conditioning of the muscles is one. As a self test, see if you can clench your vaginal muscles tight, then relax to "50% on". You should be able to hold that for 60 seconds, without the muscles tiring. If that's tricky, you probably need to do more strength work. That can include using weights. Aquaflex is one tool, you used to be able to buy it off Amazon for about £20.

If you want online tutorials, Denise Conway on YouTube is good.

However, it is not just strength.

You also need to be sure your muscles are not too tight or even in spasm. This can happen with weak muscles. You should also stretch gently every day. A wide-legged child's pose or happy baby position is great for this.

Finally, it can also be related to other muscle groups. The PF interacts with other nearby muscles such as glutes, which are much bigger than the PF. They can pull on it. So if they are weak or not "firing" right, it can affect how your PF works. Sometimes, you may need to encourage those muscles to fire, such as by doing one legged squats to engage them. Or stretch them. A physio will help with this.

I would suggest you get some weights and use them regularly plus start stretching too. At the same time, if you have the means, look for a private women's health physio in your area, and don't be afraid to shop around till you get the right one!

Good luck

That's fab info. Thank you so much.

I’ve been to a women’s physio and she was able to assess the state of my pelvic floor at the time. She also corrected my technique which I continued with using the NHS Squeezy App.