Gynecological health exercises

The essence of gynecological health exercises is to activate the muscles around the pelvis, regulate the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, and improve local blood circulation to relieve discomforts such as pelvic congestion, bloating during menstruation, and mild postpartum urine leakage due to prolonged sitting. The full set of exercises can be completed in different scenarios while standing, sitting, or lying down. The duration of a single round is 8-12 minutes. Ordinary women without acute gynecological diseases can practice 3-5 times a week, and they will feel obvious relief of discomfort after 1-2 months.

To put it bluntly, it is simple. The pelvic cavity is like a soft cloth bag containing the uterus and ovaries. Sitting for a long time and being pregnant will tighten the muscles around the bag. The blood will be blocked in it and cannot flow. Naturally, it will cause pain and make the aunt uncomfortable. To put it bluntly, this exercise will help you knead the tight muscles to allow smooth blood flow, and the problem will naturally be alleviated. I have been in the gynecology clinic for almost 6 years, and the most common complaint I encounter is "nothing is wrong, but the lower abdomen often hurts, and the aunt is so painful that she can't straighten her back." Especially for girls aged 20-35 who sit in the office every day, and mothers who have just given birth. I will basically teach this exercise first, and I have received effective feedback from thousands of people. It is really more practical than taking many menstruation-regulating health products.

If you are too lazy to move when you get home from get off work and slump on the sofa or bed, you can first do the most basic relaxation movements: lie flat on your back and bend your knees, put your feet on the sofa/bed, and gently press your waist against the supporting surface to avoid slumping. Be careful here. Many people cannot help but slump when their stomach is retracted, which will pull the lumbar spine. You can first put your hands under your waist to make sure that your waist can gently press the back of your hands. Then when you inhale, slowly expand your belly and relax your pelvic floor muscles at the same time - it's the feeling you get when you suddenly release your urine when you're holding it in. Don't cross your legs or lift your butt, just feel the muscles around your private parts relax. ； When exhaling, slowly draw it inward, as if you want to suck your navel toward the spine, and at the same time lift the pelvic floor muscles upwards. This is to hold back the urine and prevent it from flowing out. Hold it for 3 seconds and then slowly release it. One set of 10 times is enough, and 2-3 sets are enough. Oh, by the way, there are indeed two different training ideas for this movement. The European and American rehabilitation systems recommend holding each contraction for 5-8 seconds to practice muscle endurance. The domestic school of traditional Chinese medicine and gynecology advocates fast contraction and release according to the breathing rhythm to dredge local qi and blood. I have tried both, and there are also patients who have reported that they are effective. You can choose whichever one is more comfortable for you. There is no need to impose hard standards. By the way, don’t get it wrong. I met a girl who practiced for a month and said it had no effect. After she recorded a video for me, I found that she clamped her thighs and lifted her buttocks throughout the whole process, without using her pelvic floor muscles. It was a waste of practice. When you practice, you can put your hands on the roots of your thighs and feel that the thigh muscles are soft. That means you have practiced correctly.

You can practice at work and no one will notice. For example, when you are sitting at your workstation for a long meeting, sit up straight instead of slumping, and quietly do intermittent contractions of the pelvic floor muscles: contract for 2 seconds, relax for 1 second, just do it 15 times in a row. Even if you forget to do the movements, you can just get up and slowly twist your pelvis twice after sitting for an hour. , with your feet shoulder-width apart, hands on your hips, slowly move your pelvis in circles, pushing forward, turning sideways, and pulling back. Don’t swing your upper body or twist your waist. Just move your pelvis in one circle, and rotate it 10 times to change the direction. Most of the bulging feeling caused by sitting for a long time can be eliminated immediately. Traditional Chinese medicine says that this action can open up the meridians and help recover from leucorrhea. In essence, it helps you loosen the stiff muscles around the pelvic cavity so that blood can flow through. The logic of the two statements is consistent, so there is no need to worry about who is right and who is wrong.

Oh, by the way, many people ask whether they can practice during menstruation. This really varies from person to person, and there is no unified standard answer: If your menstrual flow is particularly heavy, or the pain is so painful that you can’t even get out of bed, then just lie down and don’t bother.； If you only have slight swelling and backache, but the amount is not large, you can definitely do a few breathing movements while lying down, which can help drain blood congestion and the pain of falling will be much lighter. If my aunt had a panic during the fall, I would feel much better after doing 10 breaths.

Not everyone can practice it, so be clear about the contraindications in advance: don’t practice blindly when the embryo is unstable in the first 3 months of pregnancy, and don’t do it during acute pelvic inflammatory disease or abnormal vaginal bleeding, otherwise it will aggravate congestion and be counterproductive. If you already have clear problems such as pelvic floor muscle injury or uterine prolapse, it is best to seek an evaluation from a rehabilitation practitioner before continuing to practice. Don't practice blindly on your own and end up practicing incorrectly.

I usually tell patients that there is no need to regard this as a task that must be completed, and there is no need to pursue a high standard of performance. For example, when you check your mobile phone today, just take 10 breaths when you think of it, and twist your pelvis twice when you are fishing at work. It is better than forcing yourself to practice for half an hour every day, which will result in backache and leg pain. There was a postpartum mother who was so anxious at first that she set three alarm clocks every day to force herself to practice. After practicing for half a month, her lower body hurt. Later, she changed to lying down for 5 minutes after each feeding. After two months, she went to review her pelvic floor muscle strength, which was directly upgraded from level 2 to level 4. It is stronger than anything else. To put it bluntly, when it comes to health, comfort and persistence are always more important than "standards".