Kegels and anal sphincter

Body: 

i've given birth vaginally twice and had a d & c, plus with the first vaginal birth had the works (lots of drugs to bring labor on, suction, forceps, episiotomy which ended up facilitating a bigger tear) and 8 years later surgery to try to repair all of the damage. now i have stage 2 uterine prolapse, rectocelle and mid-incontinance (esp. around the time of my monthly cycle). i've gone the surgery route without much success and wear a pessary occasionally. i've been advised to do kegels by everyone including my physiotherapist and doctors (which i think can be a really good, natural solution); however, i find that the kegels have tightenend my anal sphincter more than my vaginal walls/canal. am i doing them wrong? i can't seem to isolate the vaginal muscles from the anal muscles. this may be related to the episiotomy and large tear i had to the perineal area during the birth of my first child?

any similar experiences? any advice on how to isolate these muscles despite the damage to my perineal area?

thanks.

Hello,

Isolating the vaginal sphincter from the anal sphincter through pelvic wall contractions is another myth brought to you by Dr. Kegel.
It cannot be done as has been researched and written about in the medical literature (I wrote an open letter to the American PT association about this where I included these citations, but cannot put my hands on it now.)

I'm sorry to hear your surgery story. All of the pelvic wall surgeries are unfortunate, but the exceedingly high failure rate of A&P colporrhaphy without suspending or removing the uterus is well-known by all those practicing in the field.

Wishing you well,

Christine