are designed to
strengthen the muscles surrounding the urethra and
the external urethral sphincter in order to reduce or
prevent urine leakage. The first step is to identify these
muscles and to learn how to contract and relax them
selectively (without increasing intra-abdominal pressure
on the bladder or pelvic floor). The second step
is to perform a daily exercise regimen aimed at improving
the strength, coordination, and endurance
of the muscles. Typically, such a regimen would continue
for 12 weeks and would include three sets of
a series of 10 sustained pelvic floor muscle contractions,
each lasting eight to 10 seconds with a oneto-
one or two-to-one relaxation period in between.
Nurses may need to remind patients that it takes time
to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and that improvement
in urinary incontinence seldom occurs
before the exercises have been performed consistently
over several weeks. These exercises may be performed
while lying down, sitting, or standing.