Pelvic floor exercises: Information for people with or at risk of pelvic and genital lymphoedema

This page explains a range of gentle exercises you can do at home. These exercises help to strengthen your muscles and improve lymph flow.

If you have any questions about these exercises, please contact the lymphoedema team on 020 3447 3925.

Before you start your exercises

It’s important that you do some exercises every day, even if you do fewer exercises or fewer repetitions on busy days.

Listen to how your body feels during each exercise. Stop straight away if you feel pain. If the pain does not improve, seek advice from your doctor or healthcare professional.

To start with, do the exercises lying down or on all fours. As your confidence and strength improve, you can exercise sitting down and standing.

Your pelvic floor muscles

Your pelvic floor muscles stretch like a hammock across the base of your pelvis. They:

• support your pelvic organs, including your bladder, bowel (bottom), and your vagina or penis
• help you control your bladder and bowel movements
• support sexual function and can make sex feel better

Keeping your pelvic muscles strong can support everyday comfort and wellbeing.

To identify these muscles, imagine you are trying to stop the flow of urine (pee) and prevent passing wind. You should feel a gentle squeeze and lift, closing and pulling up the front and back passages.

While you are contracting your pelvic floor, try to keep the muscles on your inner thigh, tummy and buttocks relaxed.

Practising pelvic floor exercises daily will help to reduce swelling around your pelvis, genitals and legs.

Start with deep abdominal breathing

Breathe in through your nose, allowing your tummy to rise. Imagine a balloon inside your tummy filling with air.

Breathe out through your mouth, allowing your tummy to fall. Imagine the balloon slowly deflating.

Repeat five times.

Pelvic floor exercises: squeeze and lift

1. Squeeze and lift your pelvic floor muscles and hold the contraction for 10 seconds. Relax your muscles. Repeat 10 times.

   Aim to practise this exercise three times a day, if possible. If this feels too much, doing it at least once a day is still beneficial.

   If it is difficult to hold the contraction for 10 seconds, start with three seconds. Gradually increase the length of contraction to 10 seconds.

2. Contract your pelvic floor muscles quickly 10 times.

   Try to do this exercise three times a day, if possible. If this feels too much, doing it once a day is still beneficial.

   If it is difficult to do 10 contractions, start with three and gradually increase to 10.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the advice included on this page, or find any of the exercises difficult, please contact the lymphoedema team:

Tel: 020 3447 3925
Email: uclh.lymphoedema.service@nhs.net