Bladder control depends on muscles working together when the bladder
is filling. The bladder muscle should be relaxed when it is filling.
The muscles around the urethra (the tube that urine passes through),
called the pelvic floor muscles, should be contracted during filling. Exercises
that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles can help hold urine inside
the bladder. This prevents leaks by increasing the firmness of the
pelvic floor muscles. These are called pelvic floor muscle, or Kegel exercises,
named after the doctor who developed them.
