Start with a size that doesn’t feel intimidating (and remember that you don’t have to graduate up to any sizes that you don’t want to!). Hold this lunge position and again, squeeze and lift the Wand slowly and hold as high as you can for 2 seconds. The Kegel8 exercise plan has been devised with a specialist women’s health physiotherapist and is split into three types of training to target your muscles in different ways; with two intensity levels so you can continually improve your pelvic floor strength. The three different types of exercises in this routine should be carried out one after the other. Exercise 1 - Endurance Kegels Talk through using a wand with them– they will be able to tell you whether it’s appropriate for you and to teach you how to use it effectively

You have an active yeast or urinary tract infection. A pelvic wand could irritate these infections, so speak to your practitioner first for treatment. Relaxation Kegels are designed to put you in tune with your pelvic floor muscles so that you can become more aware of your pelvic floor movement and ensure that you fully relax your pelvic floor muscles. Relaxation is as imperative as strength for your pelvic floor muscles to stay healthy. Follow the Kegel8 exercise plans below to strengthen both your slow and fast twitch muscle fibres. Strengthening you against those little leaks when your bladder is put under pressure (such as when you cough), and allowing you to hold a full bladder for longer. Pelvic floor exercises are a must for everyone. Get your Kegel8 Pelvic Floor Wand today and get started on a healthier, stronger you.Make sure you’re in a comfortable space and you won’t be interrupted. You want to be as relaxed as possible. Don’t use it if you’re making your symptoms worse or if you have an infection. Any bleeding, excessive pain or lingering pain – get in touch with your GP and/or your Physio straight away! It might be worth having another session with your physio learning how best to use your wand. The secret is… It’s not about the wand. With the vast amount of fantastic research coming out about pelvic pain we’ve moved on from theories of “trigger points” in muscles to a better explanation of peripherally and centrally driven “tension myalgia”, "palpation hyperalgesia" or just "a sore and tight muscle". The muscle is painful, not necessarily because there’s a problem with the muscles, but because the brain considers it under threat and so interprets signals from the area as threatening, and emits pain as a response to those signals. Pain is an output from the brain, not an input– it’s up to the brain to determine how signals from the body are interpretted or perceived. Pelvic wands are sometimes recommended for people dealing with the following symptoms or conditions: Dilators usually come in sets of three to five (or more); they are dildo-like insertables in graduating sizes used to help relax the vaginal canal (for penetrative sex, a pelvic exam, etc). Wands, however, are usually curved tools used to help find trigger points in the pelvic floor. By applying some pressure and breathing deeply, they can help you release those painful knots.

Kegel8 Tip: Can’t hold your ‘squeeze and lift’ for 10 seconds? Just hold it for as long as you can. This may only be 8, 7, or just 6 seconds to begin with. Quality is more important than quantity. If you feel your muscles tiring, it’s time to rest. Don’t worry - if you can’t manage ten repetitions or hold for 10 seconds, you can improve on your performance next time you exercise. Listen to your body and stop when your muscles begin to feel tired and you lose your Kegel technique, relaxation is just as important as contracting the muscles. If you find ten repetitions easy, you can: continue to do another five (or more) repetitions, or progress onto our Kegel8 Advanced Exercise Plan. Exercise 2 – Speed Kegels Kegel8 Tip: To ease insertion, we recommend that you use a good quality, water-based lubricant such as the Kegel8 KE GEL Kegel Exercise Lubricant. Trigger points are defined as areas of muscle that are painful to the touch (palpation). They are characterized by the presence of taut bands or “knots” in the muscle and the generation of a referral pattern of pain.Kegel8 Tip: It is important to relax when removing the Kegel8 Pelvic Floor Wand. If you are not relaxed, your muscles may clench the Wand, causing you to feel that you are unable to remove it. Caring for Your Kegel8 Pelvic Floor Wand Consult with your health care provider for information on the most beneficial training techniques for your specific needs. OUR FDA APPROVEDINTERNAL TRIGGER POINT WAND THE ONLY FDA APPROVED DEVICE FOR SELF-ADMINISTERING INTERNAL TRIGGER POINT RELEASE FOR PELVIC PAIN RELIEF The Intimate Rose pelvic wands were designed by a pelvic health physical therapist. With years of experience treating patients with muscle-related pelvic pain, the thoughtful features are just what you need to effectively improve your symptoms. Both men and women require treatment for urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes (UCPPS), which includes interstitial cystitis (IC) now called painful bladder syndrome, pelvic floor dysfunction, and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Many sufferers use self-treatment with an internal trigger point wand such as as this Pelviwand combined with training in paradoxical relaxation. For Women - TheraWand LA-Wand can help you continue pelvic pain treatment at home

The main reason Kegel exercises fail is because we give up on them too soon. Most women feel the benefit within a couple of weeks, and your partner may notice before you do! However, we urge you to continue and follow the Kegel8 Exercise Plan daily for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks you can maintain and improve your strength further by exercising with the Wand 2-3 times per week.Don’t perform more than ten repetitions of fast Kegels at one time as muscle fatigue can be difficult to identify during such rapid muscle movement. Instead, you can build on this training by: doing additional fast Kegels each time you put your pelvic floor under pressure, i.e. each time you laugh, sneeze etc. or progressing onto our Kegel8 Advanced Exercise Plan. Exercise 3 – Relaxation Kegels