Do kegels improve orgasms?

“Have mind-blowing sex: learn how to do your Kegels.” “Amazing orgasms, ladies do your Kegels!” These were just some of the headlines that greeted me as I researched what was being said in the popular media regarding pelvic floor exercises and improving sexual function in women. S

I  found a few recent and past research studies that have tried to study pelvic floor exercises and sexual function in women.

In 1984, researchers studied a small group of women who were able to achieve orgasm through intercourse less than 30% of time. These women were given kegels, and another group (control group) was given no exercises. Strength gains were noted in the exercise group but neither the exercise nor control group achieved increased orgasms, or improvements in sexual frequency.

In a more recent study, 32 sexually active post-menopausal women, who had the ability to contract their pelvic floor muscles were given 3 months of physical exercises including pelvic floor muscle training with biweekly physical therapy visits and exercise performed at home three times a week with the hope of improving orgasm. Pelvic floor muscle strength was significantly improved after 3 months, but this study found no effect on sexual function.

 Messe and Geer asked a group of women to perform vaginal contractions while engaging in sexual fantasy. A second group was asked to engage in sexual fantasy without the contractions, and yet a third group was given the task of vaginal contractions but no sexual fantasy. The results indicated that performing vaginal contractions with sexual fantasy improved arousal and orgasmic ability. Initially, this group made better gains than vaginal contractions alone and fantasizing alone. However, with a second test session one week later, no further gains were noted in the ability of this group to improve sexual arousal or orgasm. Messe and Geer speculated that inc

The most interesting finding was reported by an older study done by Roughan. Roughan et. al. expected women with orgasm difficulties to improve after 12-week period of pelvic floor strengthening exercises, compared to a group that practiced relaxation and an attention control group. No difference was found between the orgasmic ability of the two groups.

The majority of women studied here had no reported pelvic floor dysfunction. Perhaps, contrary to popular opinion and against the advice of women’s magazines, women with healthy pelvic floors may not benefit from pelvic floor exercises any more than they would from relaxation training, or mindful attention to sexual stimuli.

So, what then, will increase our mojo in bed, you ask? Stay tuned for the next blogs…