Kegels and Belly Breathing Reduce Hemorrhoids
Did you know that you can use breathing techniques and pelvic floor exercises to improve your rectal health? People with tight pelvic floor muscles have to strain to empty their bowels. This pushing and straining results in hemorrhoids and anal fissures.
Belly breathing and pelvic floor toning can reduce the recurrence of hemorrhoids and your chances of getting an anal fissure. Here’s how to do both.
Breath Work
Diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, relaxes your pelvic floor muscles and helps improve your body's gastrointestinal function. Watch this video to learn how to breathe into your belly.
Kegels
Kegels, or pelvic floor exercises, help strengthen the group of muscles that sit like a hammock from your pubic bone to your tailbone.
To do a Kegel
Tighten your sphincter muscles as if you are stopping a bowel movement
Hold this contraction for 10 seconds
Relax for another 10 seconds
Repeat this 10 times
You can simultaneously contract your frontal pelvic muscles to strengthen the entire pelvic floor at once. To practice contracting these front muscles and understand what those feel like, you can stop the flow of urine while sitting on the toilet.
Coordinating Kegels with Breathwork
Once you have mastered diaphragmatic breathing, add gentle Kegels as you exhale.
Please note: We highly recommend visiting a physical therapist for proper diagnoses and individualized exercises. Search for a licensed PT by asking your OBGYN, midwife, or another healthcare provider for a recommendation or by searching Google. Look for “PT, DPT” after the name.
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