In 2010, Lior Lowenstein and colleagues published “Can Stronger Pelvic Muscle Floor Improve Sexual Function?” hereafter, “Stronger Pelvic Muscle Floor,” in the International Urogynecological Journal. They explain that they examined 176 women to assess whether their pelvic floor muscles, or PFMs, contribute to their sexual function, including their ability to feel sexual desire, become sexually aroused, and experience orgasm and pleasure. The PFMs are a group of muscles that stretch from the tailbone in the spine to the pelvic bone in the pelvis. They support the pelvic organs, which include the bladder, intestines, and the uterus in females. Prior to “Stronger Pelvic Muscle Floor,” researchers suspected a connection between the strength of PFMs and sexual function, but there was little scientific evidence to support it. Lowenstein and colleagues found that women with stronger PFMs had enhanced sexual function and concluded that the strength of women’s PFMs affects their sexual function. “Stronger Pelvic Muscle Floor” provided evidence for a direct relationship between PFM strength and sexual function, a finding that could help improve the quality of life and sexual health of females.

In 1952, Arnold Henry Kegel published “Stress Incontinence and Genital Relaxation; A Nonsurgical Method of Increasing the Tone of Sphincters and their Supporting Structures” hereafter, “Nonsurgical Method,” in the journal Ciba Clinical Symposia. In the article, Kegel argues that the pubococcygeus muscle, a pelvic floor muscle that stretches from the pubic bone to the tailbone, is a crucial structure that provides control over specific sphincters and support for pelvic organs. When pelvic floor muscles, including the pubococcygeus, weaken or relax, prolapse of the uterus and urinary incontinence can result. Kagel argues that women can strengthen their pubococcygeus, and therefore avoid those conditions, through muscle education and resistive exercises, which as of 2025, some researchers call Kegel exercises. “Nonsurgical Method” was one of the first papers to provide an alternative to surgery for treating bladder and reproductive problems that are especially common in women who have given birth.