Experts say that as many as 1 in 4 women over the age of 18 experience episodes of involuntary leaking urine, called urinary incontinence. It’s embarrassing and frightening, but there is something you can do about it, say experts: Keep your pelvic floor muscles strong. According to a review of studies by The Cochrane Library, the pelvic-floor strengthening exercises known as Kegels were found to be an effective way to minimize urinary incontinence issues. Proof: Women who did their Kegels were between 2.5 and 7 times more likely to experience improvement than those who did not do the exercises.
Need a quick refresher course on how to do Kegels? First, to figure out which muscles need flexing, some experts suggest women insert a tampon or a clean finger into their vagina and then try to close their vaginal muscles around it. Contract these pelvic muscles and hold for about 3 seconds; repeat 10 times. Do these as often as you like, and anywhere you like—no one will know.