*Welcome to the OutUK series looking at gay men and their health brought to you in association with the NHS* website.**
	Each week we'll tackle a different topic in our A to Z of Gay Health. We'll have features and advice on everything from relationships, sexual health, mental and physical conditions and how to stay fit. You can follow any of links provided below for more information direct from the NHS website, or see this week's feature O: Orthodontics.

What Are Pelvic Floor Exercises

What are pelvic floor exercises?

Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the muscles around your bladder, bottom, and vagina or penis.

Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles can help urinary incontinence, treat pelvic organ prolapse, and make sex better too.

Everyone can benefit from doing pelvic floor exercises.

You can feel your pelvic floor muscles if you try to imagine stopping yourself peeing and farting.

It's not recommended that you regularly stop the flow of pee midstream as it can be harmful to your bladder.

To strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, squeeze the muscles up to 10 times while standing, sitting or lying down.

Do not hold your breath or tighten your stomach, bottom or thigh muscles at the same time.

When you get used to doing pelvic floor exercises, you can try holding each squeeze for one second. Eventually you can try a set of 10 fast squeezes, followed by a set where you hold each squeeze.

Be careful not to overdo it, and always have a rest between sets of squeezes. It's best not to do a set of these exercises more than 6 times a day.

After a few months, you should start to notice results. You should keep doing the exercises, even when you notice they're starting to work.

If you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant, you can start doing pelvic floor exercises immediately.

The exercises will lower your chance of experiencing incontinence after having your baby.

Find out more about exercise in pregnancy, including pelvic floor exercises.

Strong pelvic floor muscles can also mean increased sensitivity during sex and stronger orgasms.

Strengthening and training the pelvic floor muscles can also help to reduce the symptoms of erectile dysfunction.

OutUK's A to Z of Gay Health continues and you can read this week's feature O: Orthodontics. We have covered many subjects in this series and you can catch up with all of our Previous A to Z Features. If you want to find out more about this particular topic you can visit the Original article on the NHS website. If you are worried by any aspect of your health make sure you go and see your doctor or book an appointment at your local clinic.
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