What is Menopause?

Menopause is a major time of change in a women's life. During menopause a woman's body slowly produces less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone which leads to a myriad of symptoms including pelvic floor muscle weakness, dryness, urinary incontinence, frequency, urgency and constipation.

As estrogen drops, the muscles in your body tend to weaken, including the pelvic floor muscles. This can lead to less control of holding in your urine with a cough, sneeze or even just walking. Weak pelvic floor muscles can also play a part in the onset of prolapse which is the descent of one of the pelvic organs (uterus, bladder or rectum) into the vaginal canal. Drops in estrogen can cause dryness inside the vaginal canal, which can make sex painful or uncomfortable.

What Can I Do To Help Strengthen My Pelvic Muscles During Menopause?

1. Make sure you are eating a healthy diet that includes at least 30 g of fiber per day along with drinking around 2 L of water each day to help with bladder control and constipation.

2. Exercising at least 30 minutes on most days is important for bone, heart and muscular health.

3. Use a good water based lubricant for sex to help with dryness and irritation. You can also try using a vaginal moisturizer daily to help with dryness. If this doesn't help, ask your doctor if an estrogen based cream is right for you.

4. Toning your pelvic floor muscles to combat the natural atrophy and weakening that occurs during menopause strengthening your pelvic floor muscles is important to maintaining bladder and bowel control along with sexual function.

To do a pelvic floor muscle contraction, gently squeeze around the vaginal opening and anus and feel an upward lift. Your body should not move and your abdominals, inner thighs and buttocks should stay relaxed.

If you are having a hard time feeling a pelvic floor muscle contraction or are unsure if you are doing it right, see a pelvic floor physical therapist. They may recommend a pelvic floor muscle trainer like the KWELL EM1 to assist with your pelvic floor exercises.

What is the KWELL EM1?

The EM1 is an FDA approved at home option that has an easy to insert probe with six preset programs to help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. It is user friendly, will help you take back control, and comes with everything you need including an easy to insert probe which can be inserted vaginally. It works by eliciting a gentle electrical stimulation to the pelvic floor muscles to assist them contracting in the right way. After using the EM1 for 4-6 weeks you may notice you have better bladder and bowel decreased urinary frequency, urgency and better sex.

The EMS device can also tighten your pelvic muscles, reduce the stress of urge urinary incontinence, and help you control your bladder more.

Although menopause is a natural process every women goes through, you do not have to let it change your quality of life. Optimize your pelvic floor muscle function to regain control over your bladder and bowels and have better sex!

Written by Dr. Magdalen Link PT (Instagram l TikTok)

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