Practicing Pelvic Floor (Kegel) Exercises Before and After Your Prostate Surgery
How to Identify the Correct Muscle- To find the pelvic floor muscle, place your finger on your anus. Try to squeeze the muscle. You should feel it contract. This is the muscle you want to exercise. This muscle is the same one you use to hold back gas or a bowel movement. When you squeeze the anal sphincter, the urethral sphincter contracts at the same time.
- REMEMBER do not squeeze your stomach, leg or buttock muscles. To find out if you are also contracting your stomach muscles, place your hand on your stomach while squeezing your pelvic floor. If you feel your stomach or body move, then you are using too many muscles.
- These exercises can be practiced anytime, anywhere. Since this muscle is inside your body, non one see you exercise it.
- Exercising the pelvic floor muscle after surgery will gradually regain strength and increase the circulation in that area.
- Gradually, not quickly, squeeze the muscle you identified earlier. Take a breath in as you squeeze the anus. Hold the sphincter contracted for 5 seconds. Release it. Take a deep breath in and then exhale.
- Do 10 exercises in the morning, 10 at noon, 10 after dinner and 10 at bedtime.
- Do gentle and easy gradual squeezes.
- These exercises can be practiced until and after surgery.
- Following surgery you will have a catheter in to allow the surgery to heal.
- DO NOT DO KEGELS WHILE THE CATHETER IS IN
- You can restart the exercises after your catheter has been removed.
Maneuvers to Prevent Stress Incontinence After Radical Prostatectomy
To prevent the stress incontinence most common after prostate surgery, we recommend that you practice the maneuvers listed below. These quick squeezes close the urethral sphincter just enough to hold the sphincter closed against the pressure of your abdomen pushing down on the bladder.
You will be using the fast twitch muscle fibers of the pelvic muscle group. If possible, you should practice these moves before your surgery when you are able to identify and feel this group of muscles as they are working.
- As you get up from a sitting position, do a quick squeeze of the anal sphincter (or the whole pelvic hammock of muscles, if you can feel it). Once you are standing, release the contraction and then breathe. If you start to feel urine coming down the shaft of the penis, stop and squeeze again.
- If you feel a tickle in the back of your throat like you are going to cough are sneeze, breath in deeply and quickly squeeze the anal sphincter, holding while you cough or sneeze. You can practice this maneuver by just coughing and squeezing the anal sphincter at the same time.
- Practice squeezing the anal sphincter as you twist or reach quickly for something.
- Do the same quick squeezes of the anal sphincter as you bend over to pick up something.
- When getting out of a car, turn to face the open door; put your feet down on the running board or ground, and as you lean forward, quickly squeeze the pelvic floor muscles, (the anal sphincter). After the surgery, if you leak when you lift your legs to get out of the car, squeeze the anus prior to lifting your legs.
Bladder Irritants
There is no specific diet that can cure your bladder problems. However, there are certain dietary habits that may affect your bladder.
Many people who have bladder problems reduce the amount of liquid that they consume hoping to urinate less often. Actually, reducing your liquid intake causes concentrated urine. Concentrated urine can be more irritating to the bladder lining increasing symptoms. Decreased fluids may also encourage the growth of bacteria leading to urinary tract infections.
Your urine may have and unusual odor if you have a bladder infection or after eating certain foods (asparagus). Certain medications such as pyridium may discolor your urine. If you have questions regarding these symptoms, consult your physician or pharmacist.
Certain foods and beverages are thought to contribute to bladder problems and are classified as possible bladder irritants. The reasons are not always understood. You may wish to eliminate some of the following to see if your symptoms improve. Eliminate on at a time for at least a week to see how it affects your symptoms.
- Coffee, tea- even decaffeinated (herbal teas are okay)
- Caffeine-pop, medications containing caffeine, coffee, tea
- Alcoholic beverages
- Carbonated beverages
- Citrus fruits and juices-oranges, grapefruit, cranberries
- Tomatoes-tomato based products
- Highly spiced foods
- Sugar-honey-corn syrup
- Chocolate-(contains caffeine)
- Artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame
Water is the best beverage to drink. Ice in your water and a thin slice of lemon may make water more enjoyable to drink. Other non-irritating choices include apple juice, grape juice, pear nectar and peach nectar.
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