Kegels! and premature ejaculation

This blog is a big proponent of exercise. Exercise and a proper diet can reduce the risk of a host of ailments ranging from diabetes to heart disease to cancer. Another important aspect of exercise is to strengthen and tone muscles. And let's face it, there are a lot of muscles to strengthen and tone.

Indeed there are some muscles we may not even be aware of. Over the years I have encountered the term "kegel" without understanding exactly what it meant. The comedian Rob Delaney, who tweets prolifically on Twitter, has used the term on occasion (link1, link2, link3, link4, link5); I have been puzzled by these tweets.

Fortunately resources exist on the Internet to remedy my ignorance; Wikipedia to the rescue:

"Pelvic floor exercise, or Kegel exercise (/ˈkeɪɡəl/), consists of repeatedly contracting and relaxing the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor, now sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Kegel muscles". Several tools exist to help with these exercises, although various studies debate the relative effectiveness of different tools versus traditional exercises. Exercises are usually done to reduce urinary incontinence, reduce urinary incontinence after childbirth, and reduce premature ejaculatory occurrences in men, as well as to increase the size and intensity of erections. They were first described in 1948 by Arnold Kegel."

For those interested in adding kegels to your exercise regimen, the Mayo Clinic website has detailed instructions:

"It takes diligence to identify your pelvic floor muscles and learn how to contract and relax them. Here are some pointers:

• Find the right muscles. To identify your pelvic floor muscles, stop urination in midstream. If you succeed, you've got the right muscles.
• Perfect your technique. Once you've identified your pelvic floor muscles, empty your bladder and lie on your back. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles, hold the contraction for five seconds, and then relax for five seconds. Try it four or five times in a row. Work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.
• Maintain your focus. For best results, focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.
• Repeat 3 times a day. Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day."

It is important to note that a condition such as urinary incontinence is a common, discomforting, and potentially embarrassing medical issue; strengthening your pelvic floor muscles via kegel exercises is one of the standard treatments.

Kegels have additional benefits (at least for men) as I learned last week. A new study highlighted another medical condition that kegels can help with (and alluded to above in the Wikipedia entry): premature ejaculation. A team from Rome showed that kegels could greatly extend the time to ejaculation.

Premature ejaculation is not an uncommon issue among men: "According to the American Urological Association, premature ejaculation affects about one in five U.S. men younger than 60."

The design of the study was straightforward:

"Forty men who reported having lifelong premature ejaculation problems were trained to exercise their pelvic floor muscles for 12 weeks. They also measured their time to orgasm throughout the study period. The men, ages 19 to 46, had previously tried a variety of treatments, including creams, behavioral therapy and antidepressants, without any significant improvement.

The men performed all the exercises three times a week, for 20 minutes each session."

The results were as follows:

"At the start of the trial, men's average time to ejaculation during intercourse was 32 seconds. By the end of the first six weeks, the 33 successful patients had an average time to ejaculation of just over two minutes. After 12 weeks, their average time to ejaculation had increased more than four-fold, to almost two and a half minutes."

A four-fold improvement is quite impressive. The typical time to ejaculation is 5-10 minutes [Wikipedia]. It is important to workout your muscles; never underestimate the power of exercise!

Figure 1. Kegel exercises can be performed lying down or sitting up.