Do you suffer from incontinence?

Incontinence, specifically urinary incontinence, is accidental leakage of urine. Incontinence is common for postpartum women, and as many as 30% suffer from urinary incontinence in the first 3 months after having a baby. Urinary incontinence often starts during pregnancy and then continues on or even worsens during the postpartum period.

Maybe you leak a lot and rely on pads most days, especially if you feel a cold coming on when you know you might cough or sneeze. Maybe you have become accustomed to crossing your legs when you sneeze. Or maybe you just get a tiny amount of leakage when you run, lift heavy, or jump. Any amount is not normal and should be addressed.

Urinary incontinence can be broken down into two main categories, stress urinary incontinence and urge urinary incontinence. Stress urinary incontinence is when urine leaks out during a stress activity for the body, such as a cough, a sneeze, a hard laugh, or jumping or running. These stress activities change the pressure in the core and cause leakage. Urge urinary incontinence, on the other hand, is when there is a sudden urge to urinate, and if the bladder is not emptied immediately, urine leaks out.

Incontinence can be caused by a variety of issues, starting with the pelvic floor. If the pelvic floor is really tense, when we ask it to contract, such as with a forceful activity like sneezing, it isn’t able to contract any further, so we get a leak. On the other hand, the pelvic floor may be weak or uncoordinated, so when we ask it to contract, it simply doesn’t respond in the way we want it to. There are also issues outside of the pelvic floor that can contribute to leaking. Some common problems that can increase incontinence are poor posture, presence of pelvic organ prolapse, butt gripping or clenching, poor core strength and coordination, sucking in the abdominals, and poor ankle, knee, or hip stability.

If you have been suffering from unwanted leakage and are ready to do something about it, hop on a free call with a pelvic floor physical therapist to see if you are a good fit! 612-568-2462