A Kegel or Kegel exercise is a controlled contraction and release of the muscles in the pelvic floor.

Designed to strengthen the muscles that make up the pelvic floor, Kegels are performed by contracting these muscles and releasing them repeatedly. This is the same muscle movement you would use to stop urination—though doctors usually discourage people from trying to stop urinating. Kegels are typically done at a separate time.

Kegels are often recommended for people who have given birth, as the process of pregnancy and giving birth can cause urinary incontinence due to a weakening of the pelvic muscles. They are also recommended to people after receiving any invasive surgery that may affect the structure of the pelvis or the prostate. Strengthening these muscles will help avoid incontinence and pain related to the surgery.

American gynecologist Arnold Kegel started recommending exercises to his patients as a non-surgical treatment for urinary incontinence in the 1940s. After these exercises were studied and observed to have a real beneficial effect on those who performed them, the exercises became known as Kegels.

Example: Janelle’s doctor recommended doing Kegels regularly after she gave birth.

Did you mean kugel?