QuestionQUESTION: Hi!
I read somewhere that the width of the PC-muscle (closing the opening of the vagina) is about 0.5" in a woman with weak pelvic floor muscles and 2.5" or more in a woman with a well-exercised pelvic floor.
Can't find where I read that, though. Can you confirm these figures? Do you know the maximum width?
Thanks.
ANSWER: I've never read or heard about these types of measurements.
The PCs run front to back, from the Pubis bone to the Coccyx. Laterally they connect to the ischium, or "sit bones." So the width of the PCs would be determined by the size of the pelvis, and vary a little from woman to women.
The PCs have two circular openings, in front for the vagina and urethra, and the rear for the anus, and these openings are ringed by dense muscle and connective tissues. After a vaginal delivery, some women find the vaginal opening to be slightly larger than before childbirth. But with proper reconditioning of the PCs, normal size and functioning can, and should, be re-established.
Ideally, well-functioning PC muscles will form a flat, or perhaps slightly draping profile front to back when viewed from the side. Women with weak PCs will have a pronounced droop, or hammock shape in these muscles. In these cases, the PC muscle are lax - both too long and too weak.
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QUESTION: Thanks for your reply.
Regarding the width of vaginal/PC muscles,
In my last mail, I said that I had read about the width of the pelvic muscles. Somewhere - I couldn't find the figures anymore.
Well, I spent another hour or so looking for the answer and I found it, finally!
"Women with poor pelvic muscle development have vagina muscles as small as a � inch thick, while women with healthy and strong vaginas have muscles 2 inches thick or more."
(from http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-health-articles/is-my-vagina-the-right-size-a
)
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If the following two questions don't belong to the category of questions you answer, just ignore them;
Regarding vaginal/pelvic strength,
My girlfriend is in her early forties. You sometimes read about how the strength of the pelvic muscles decrease during/after menopause.
I was wondering, if a woman is doing her Kegels (and uses vag. cream or similar), will the decrease in wetness and muscle tone (due to menopause) still be noticeable during intercourse and when it comes to urinary incontinence?
Or will the woman, with the help of the regular Kegel exercises and vaginal cream be as before menopause?
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Regarding the pelvic floor... A few years back I had a site on Kegel exercising. During that time I found that some sites (and also some books) claimed that it's possible to control several muscles inside the vagina, not just the one located at the opening.
I've never been with a woman who can control muscles all the way in to the end of the vaginal tunnel. Is this really true?
Thanks.
Steve
AnswerMuscle atrophy increases as we age, especially after menopause. Kegels will help maintain PC strength and the prevention of urinary incontinence and uterine and bladder prolapse. Vaginal dryness is a normal aspect of aging too.
The vagina is not a muscle, and there are no muscles at the interior aspect. The vagina ends at the neck of the the uterus, the cervix, an organ, not muscle. So I don't think the last claim has legitimacy.
