Do Kegels Actually Work?

If you have been doing pelvic floor exercises consistently since giving birth, you may have noticed something frustrating. Certain things improved: better control, fewer leaks when you cough or laugh. But the change you were most hoping for never quite arrived.

That is a common experience, and it usually isn't a sign that you are doing the exercises incorrectly. More often, it means one part of the problem is being addressed while another part goes untouched.

Two Changes, Not One

When things feel looser after childbirth or during menopause, there are typically two separate changes happening at the same time.

The first is muscular. Your pelvic floor is a sling of muscle supporting the bladder, uterus, and bowel. Pregnancy, delivery, and age all place strain on it, and like any muscle, it can weaken.

The second is structural. The vaginal wall itself is tissue, and its firmness depends largely on collagen and elastin. Both decline after childbirth and continue to decline with age, particularly as estrogen levels fall.

Kegels are exercise. They strengthen the muscle. They do not reach the tissue, because tissue is not something you can contract.

Why Progress Can Feel Incomplete

This explains why so many women describe partial results. Strength and control improve, and yet the way things feel remains largely unchanged.

That is not evidence that the exercises failed. It indicates that the muscular side has been addressed while the structural side remains where it was.

What Actually Reaches the Tissue

Fewer options than you might expect. Laser and energy-based treatments are widely marketed for this purpose, but they are costly, the evidence that they meaningfully tighten vaginal tissue is limited, and long-term data is scarce. Surgical options exist and are appropriate for some women, though they carry the considerations any surgery does.

Both also share a practical drawback: they require appointments, downtime, and a significant financial commitment for something many women would rather handle privately.

The gentler approach is to support the tissue directly. PDRN is among the more interesting ingredients in this space, well studied in dermatology for its role in supporting collagen production and skin firmness.

Our PDRN Intimate Recovery Gel uses a Phyto-PDRN derived from licorice root in a single-dose applicator, used twice a week over two weeks. It is designed to be an at-home option, something you can fit into your existing routine without booking anything, taking time off, or discussing it with anyone you would rather not. It is not a replacement for pelvic floor work. It addresses the part pelvic floor work was never designed to reach.

A Complete Approach Uses Both

Neither method is sufficient on its own.

• Continue the pelvic floor work. It remains the best-evidenced approach for strength and control, and those benefits extend well beyond how things feel.
• Support the tissue separately, since collagen and elastin do not respond to exercise.
• Allow a realistic timeframe. Tissue changes are gradual. Two weeks of consistent use is a starting point rather than an endpoint.

One Thing Worth Saying Plainly

If you are experiencing leaking, heaviness, pressure, or a sensation of something bulging, please see a doctor or a pelvic floor physical therapist. These can indicate prolapse or a pelvic floor condition that requires proper assessment, and a topical product addresses neither.

It is also worth noting that a pelvic floor physiotherapist is one of the most useful appointments most postpartum women never book. Many women perform Kegels incorrectly without any way of knowing.

None of this is about returning your body to an earlier version of itself. It is about understanding what actually changed, so that the effort you are already making goes where it can do the most good.

References

1. Woodley SJ, et al. Pelvic floor muscle training for preventing and treating urinary and faecal incontinence in antenatal and postnatal women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007471.pub4/full
2. Vaginal rejuvenation using energy-based devices. International Journal of Women's Dermatology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28492016/
3. Efficacy and safety of energy-based device therapy in women diagnosed with vaginal relaxation syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Urogynecology Journal. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00192-026-06700-w
4. Analysis of skin regeneration and barrier-improvement efficacy of polydeoxyribonucleotide isolated from Panax ginseng (C.A. Mey.) adventitious root. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10649580/
5. Anti-aging efficacy of low-molecular-weight polydeoxyribonucleotide derived from Paeonia lactiflora. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12785872/