Kegels Won't Fix Vaginismus or Vulvodynia (Here's Why)

"Do you know how I view my vagina? I see it as a cactus." Anne Hathaway wants to write the bible of the pelvic floor, The Times is selling Kegels as the fix, and every postpartum woman gets the same tick-box line from her midwife: do your Kegels. But if Kegels genuinely worked for everyone, why are so many of us still in pain and still pissing ourselves. A question that needs asking more versus- do your kegals.

In this solo episode of Ground Floor, holistic pelvic care practitioner, somatic educator and doula Naomi Gale draws on a decade of hands-on work to explain why vaginismus and vulvodynia are usually a pelvis that's guarding, not a pelvis that's weak.

In this episode:

- Where Kegels came from, and what they're actually for (yes a man was involved)

- The postpartum tick-box, and Naomi's own "PMSL" story after twins

- Why so many women doing Kegels aren't moving their vaginal muscles at all

- The Kegel as a check-in, not a workout

- Vaginismus, fear, cultural messaging and the constant bracing of being a woman

- Vulvodynia, misdiagnosis, and being told it's "in your head"

- The client who stopped her Kegels for three months and got her best pelvic floor result yet

- Mummy MOTs, and moulding yourself to fit the system

- What the research says about physio, mindfulness and CBT

- Botox, and why it's worth getting assessed

Free pelvic floor meditation: search Naomi Gale on Insight Timer.

If this episode helped, please leave a review and some stars. It helps other women find the show.

This episode is education, not medical advice. If sex or penetration hurts, see your GP, a gynaecologist or a pelvic health physiotherapist to rule out other causes.

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