Nationality American Died January 1, 1981 | Name Arnold Kegel Fields Gynecology | |
Born February 24, 1894Lansing, Iowa ( 1894-02-24 ) Alma mater Loyola University Chicago (Physician), University of Dubuque (Bachelor's degree) | ||
Arnold Henry Kegel (born February 1894; death date variously reported as 1972; March 1, 1972; and 1976;) was an American gynecologist who invented the Kegel perineometer (an instrument for measuring the strength of voluntary contractions of the pelvic floor muscles) and Kegel exercises (squeezing of the muscles of the pelvic floor) as non-surgical treatment of genital relaxation. Today pelvic floor exercises are widely held as first-line treatment for urinary stress incontinence and female genital prolapse, with evidence supporting its use from systematic reviews of randomized trials in the Cochrane Library amongst others. Kegel first published his ideas in 1948. He was Assistant Professor of Gynecology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.