If you are leaking urine (incontinence) you may have heard this is just normal as you get older, or after having kids; but this definitely doesn't make you feel any better. You may have heard that only surgery will keep this from happening and you are feeling discouraged.
I want to let you know that it doesn't have to be this way!
I want to share with you the two types of incontinence and some things you can do to help.
Urge incontinence is one of the easier fixes as you are working on retraining the brain to help delay the sensation of going to the bathroom.
Stress Incontinence is going to take a bit more work as we need to look at how your whole body is moving, how you are sitting, and how you are breathing.
Breathing is where I usually begin because your diaphragm and your pelvic floor work together and if you are not breathing down into your ribs than your pelvic floor is not being worked naturally which isn't providing it it's normal movement (exercise) each and every breath.
I want to let you know that it doesn't have to be this way!
I want to share with you the two types of incontinence and some things you can do to help.
- Stress Incontinence is leaking urine when you laugh, sneeze, or cough or when you jump, walk, or run. This type of incontinence has to do with how you manage pressure within your core and how your posture plays a role.
- Urge Incontinence is leaking urine when you get close to the bathroom or when you feel the need to go to the bathroom. This is a disconnect between the bladder and the brain and can be fixed with a little bit of retraining.
Urge incontinence is one of the easier fixes as you are working on retraining the brain to help delay the sensation of going to the bathroom.
- Make sure you aren't drinking things that stimulate the bladder like caffeine and soda.
- Do not dehydrate yourself because you think if you have less to drink you will leak less. In studies there was no decrease in leaking for those hydrated or on the verge of dehydration.
- Do not practice going to the bathroom before you leave (to empty out), this confuses the bladder as a signal should occur when the bladder is full.
- It is normal to go the bathroom every 2-3 hours, if you are drinking a normal amount of liquids. If you are going every hour, than you will want to practice delaying your bathroom use by only about 5 minutes until that becomes comfortable and then add on another 5 minutes until you are able to get back to every 2-3 hours.
- If you feel like you are going to pee your pants if you don't get to the toilet quick enough, I want you to think about doing 3 quick kegels to break the bladder signals and this should delay leaking while you have time to get to the bathroom; or if you know its to early to have to go, delay it by doing something else before heading to the bathroom.
Stress Incontinence is going to take a bit more work as we need to look at how your whole body is moving, how you are sitting, and how you are breathing.
Breathing is where I usually begin because your diaphragm and your pelvic floor work together and if you are not breathing down into your ribs than your pelvic floor is not being worked naturally which isn't providing it it's normal movement (exercise) each and every breath.
The next thing we will need to work on is your posture as how you may be sitting, standing, and moving may be creating pressure down which in turn puts a lot of pressure down on the pelvic floor and organs.
All of this can take some time and practice to get it right and if you feel like you still need help with this than grab our quick course on Incontinence to help you through different exercises and tips to help.
In the meantime when you go out for your next jog or workout, practice these few things to keep from leaking until you strengthen the pelvic floor and work on your posture.
Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have as I'm happy to help provide you with tips to help you to start feeling better in your own body. Although leaking is common, it is not normal and there are things you can do to help.
- Don't allow your chin to jut out, think slight tuck down to keep the fascial core line engaged
- Take a deep breath in and short quick breaths out to help engage the core while jumping
- Land soft on the balls of your feet so that you aren't using your joints to absorb the impact
Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have as I'm happy to help provide you with tips to help you to start feeling better in your own body. Although leaking is common, it is not normal and there are things you can do to help.
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