Pelvic floor strengthening exercise commonly known as Kegel exercise, is one of the most effective way of controlling urinary incontinence / OAB naturally. Dr Arnold Kegel, MD, the physician who invented this exercise, first recommended it to his women patients who had just given birth and were leaking urine. This helped them to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which had lost muscle tone during delivery. When the pelvic floor muscles are weak, urine can leak, especially if it is stress incontinence. This is the type in which you leak urine when you laugh, cough, sneeze, or are engaged in physical activities such as jogging or sex. The value of improving urinary incontinence with Kegel exercises is now widely accepted and commonly advised as a conservative treatment along with medication. Kegel exercises do not pose any risks to a woman's health.

Steps to Kegel Exercise:

This exercise is similar to stopping urination in midstream.

• First, tighten the muscles around your vagina and anus, making sure the lower abdomen does not move when you are holding.
• Then hold the muscles tightened as long as you can, working up to 8 to 10 seconds each time.
• Initially the tightening can be achieved for a few seconds but with practice, it can be worked upto the above limit.
• Follow this routine with relaxation in between.
• Try for three or four counts of 10 tightening per day.
• This exercise can be done anywhere even while working in your office, traveling, watching TV, sitting in a coffee shop or stuck up in traffic jam, sitting upright. Practice this as frequently as possible for good results. No one will be aware that you are doing the exercises, so you can repeat them frequently.

Know when to use Kegel: "When you get the urge, stop, stand still, do a Kegel and the bladder spasm should ease up. Then walk slowly to the bathroom."

The benefit of Kegel exercise in the form of better bladder control can be appreciated by about 3 months, provided one does the exercises daily. Kegel exercises can be done throughout your life.

Kegel exercises are not only good for improving urinary incontinence. The pelvic floor muscles contract more strongly during orgasm once they are strengthened, giving more sexual pleasure than one experiences. This is one of the surprised and hidden benefits of Kegel exercise.