Ben Wa Balls and Kegel Exercices: What’s the difference?

17 Feb Ben Wa Balls and Kegel Exercices: What’s the difference?

Does the use of Ben Wa Balls have the same benefits as Kegel exercises? Are Ben Wa Balls indicated for Urinary Incontinence Problems?

Over the past few years there has been a lot of hype over the use of Ben Wa Balls, Kegels, and Smart Kegel Devices. It’s wonderful that more and more women are learning to exercise their pelvic floor.

However, when you want to find reliable sources on what exercises are best to practice (either as a preventative measure or as a solution to problems like urinary incontinence), they are often scattered and unreliable. Word of mouth often creates myths like that “I can train my pelvic floor just with Chinese balls”, while online, professional information is often confused with advertisements of products that promise more than 50 shades of Grey. In addition, it use to be generalized information that doesn’t consider that every woman and every state of life is different.

When looking for information on Ben Wa Balls one ends up finding a lot of sites saying that Ben Wa Balls can be used at pretty much any point in time and can be used to help treat Urinary Incontinence and tightening the elasticity of the vagina. But are there any points in time they should not be used? This kind of information provided on the Internet then creates questions such as:

Do Ben Wa Balls have the same functions as Kegel exercises? Are all the different options equal in terms of strengthening your pelvic floor? Can Ben Wa Balls improve urinary incontinence or decrease pain during sex?

We want to answer these questions with professional information, exposing the main differences, benefits and contradictions so that this knowledge, can be used to help you decide how to self-manage your own intimate health.

What is the pelvic floor?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that function to support pelvic floor organs (bladder, uterus, colon), assists in urinary continence (taking a number 1 & 2), aid in sexual performance (… orgasms), stabilize connecting joints, and act as a venous and lymphatic pump for the pelvis that helps to remove harmful bacteria from you blood. (Whew) To say the least, this is one versatile group of muscles.

The pelvic floor tenses, relaxes, and uses voluntary functions and involuntary functions. Due to this versatility, just like having to work both your bicep and your triceps within your arm, you have to do different exercises that utilize the multiple functions of the pelvic floor.

Ben Wa Balls vs. Kegel Exercices 

The pelvic floor, just like all skeletal muscles, consists of voluntary and involuntary fibers.

• Involuntary fibers of the pelvic floor are those triggered without us give the order to do so, such as when we catch a sneeze or weight. Ben Wa balls, when used in motion (walking), activate these fibers, since the vibration produced in the walls of the vagina causes small involuntary contractions. Moreover, the Low Pressure Fitness, because of the synergistic relationship between the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, also enable involuntary fibers.
• Kegel exercises are done consciously. So, these exercises work the voluntary fibers of the pelvic floor. Varying types of Kegels are used to tighten the pelvic floor while reverse Kegels are used to relax it. 

Ben Wa Balls are weights that are inserted into the vagina and use the vibrations in your movement to create contractions in the involuntary fibers. This works effectively to tighten the pelvic floor and the walls of the vagina.

Low Pressure exercices are types of breathing exercises also used to help tone the pelvic floor. It has a second function that allows you to relieve pressure on the pelvic floor by moving the internal organs up into your rib cage.

Low Pressure Fitness Exercice

So, which Pelvic floor is the best? In most training regiments, you would want to exercise both the voluntary and involuntary muscle fibers by including the different exercises side by side. Thus, you would group together Kegel pelvic floor exercises with either Ben Wa Balls or Hypopressive Exercises.

Training plans of Bwom are a combination of Kegel exercices + Low Pressure Exercices + correction of habits. Our vision of pelvic health is holistic, working through the pelvic area in general, which also get the benefits go beyond, such as postural correction, improvement of back pain or a toned and beautiful belly.

Can Ben Wa Balls be used to Treat Urinary Incontinence or Pain During Sex?

It’s myth busting time! As mentioned, Ben Wa Balls tone the muscles of the pelvic floor and vagina, and so can be used to help prevent urine leakage, uterine prolapse, and improve the sensations and pleasure of sex.

However, when it comes to solving and treating problems such as urinary incontinence or pain from penetration, keep in mind that these can come from very different causes. Therefore if you plan on using Ben Wa Balls as a method to treat any existing problems you should consult a professional before using Ben Wa Balls. If the problem is caused by the wrong reason you could make it worse by using this method of pelvic floor exercise.

For instance:

Incontinence generally has two main causes:

a) Lack of tone in the pelvic floor: In this case Ben Wa Balls can help solve the problem. The micro-contractions will help you tone your pelvic floor. However, the treatment must be complemented with other types of Kegel exercises.

b) Pelvic Organ Prolapse (for example if the bladder, uterus, or bowel slip out of place): if symptoms have this cause, You should not use Ben Wa Balls as the weight of the balls falls on the bladder and could worsen your urinary incontinence.

In the case of pain or discomfort in penetration:

If the cause is (a) lack of tone, Ben Wa Balls can help. However, if the cause is (b) lack of relaxation also known as hypertension of the pelvic floor, Ben Wa Balls will worsen the problem. Due to these factors you can now see why it is so important to know this information before you decide to use this as a form of treatment…

Ben Wa Balls are not recomended during Pregnancy. During pregnancy you want to increase elasticity of the vaginal walls not tighten them further. Because Ben Wa Balls work to tighten the walls you can put yourself at risk at the end of your nine month wait. If you tighten the walls during pregnancy you are putting yourself at risk in having to have an episiotomy during delivery due to the risk of vaginal tearing. In order to increase said elasticity we recommend having your partner give you perineal massages instead.

When it comes to wanting to exercise your pelvic floor right after delivery and during the postpartum period, we recommend that you see a professional before beginning treatment with pelvic floor exercises, electro stimulation, or Ben Wa Balls.

So there you go. Now you know the details on what different types of pelvic floor exercises do for you.

But how do you know what training is best for your pelvic health?

For one you can try downloading the app Bwom in iTunes or Google Play where you can take a pelvic floor test for free. This test lets you know what state of health your pelvic floor is in and what types of exercises are best for you.

What Makes the app Bwom Unlike Other Forms of Pelvic Floor Training?

While our program does not include the use of Ben Wa Balls, we have created well rounded exercises using both Kegels, Reverse Kegels, and Hypopressives, all tailored to your needs through our initial pelvic health test.

Within the application we provide:

• Customization: The first part of Bwom provides a free is a test of your pelvic floor. This test diagnoses your pelvic health based on questions that determine your stage of life and symptoms you may have. From there, we can determine your level of attention and offer a series of workout plans customized to your needs. Each plan is aimed at a specific health target such as urine control, relaxing the pelvic floor, or improving sex.
• A holistic view of the pelvis and intimate health : We are not an application made just for doing Kegel exercises. We provide both physical and mental benefits to our app community. We provide an overview of women’s intimate health, and offer customized plans that work the entire pelvic area. We provide exercises, tips, habit corrections, body toning, postpartum scar care, and treatment to problems such as urine incontinence and constipation. Our goal is to provide health, wellbeing, safety, and higher self-esteem by giving you the tools to take control of your inner and more intimate health.

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You can also see more information about Bwom by checking out the rest of our website here.

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