For the last 3-4 years I started noticing that whenever I did jumping jacks in the gym or skipping , few drops of urine would leak . This forced me to go to washroom many times during my exercise time . Many times the situation embarassed me in front of others working out in the gym .
This problem is called Urinary Incontinence . It’s basically a bladder control problem . It can be faced both my men and women . In simple terms , it is involuntary loss of urine from the body .
Common types of Urinary Incontinence among women:
Stress Incontinence
When bladder gets a pressure – may be by coughing , sneezing ,laughing or doing some high energy exercises .
Urge Incontinence
When you feel a sudden urge to urinate followed by involuntary loss of urine .
Functional Incontinence
This can happen due to some health troubles which don’t give you enough time to reach the washroom.
Factors contributing to Urinary Incontinence among women
Pregnancy & childbirth
This phase of a woman’s life weakens the vaginal muscles and thus there’s frequent urge to urinate .
As you age
As you get older , muscles of your bladder and urethra lose some strength .
Overweight
Extra weight increases pressure on your bladder and the surrounding muscles .
Menopause
Peri/Menopause causes loss of estrogen and there occurs vaginal dryness too. The lack of estrogen may cause your pelvic muscles to weaken.
Lifestyle changes to help in Stress Urinary Incontinence
Maintain a healthy weight
Taking off extra weight off your body helps to ease the pressure put on the bladder and the muscles around .
Do Pelvic Muscle Strength exercises
Pelvic muscle exercises , also known as Kegel exercises help in Stress Urinary Incontinence .
Use some absorbents
You can use some panty liners to avoid the embarrassment when you are out of your home. There are many other absorbent products available in the market .
Pelvic Muscle Strength exercises for women to beat Stress Urinary Incontinence
1. Squeeze your Pelvic floor muscles
Pelvic floor muscles are the muscles that hold up your bladder and help keep it from leaking. Find the right muscles. Try this way -Imagine that you are sitting on some marble pieces and want to pick up the marble with your vagina. Imagine “sucking” the marble into your vagina. The muscles where you feel the stretch , are the right muscles you have to work on . Squeeze these muscles for a count of 3 . Then relax for a count of 3 . Repeat 10 times . If you are consistent , You start seeing an improvement in one month . Don’t lose patience .
Remember
- Don’t squeeze other muscles at the same time. Be careful not to tighten your stomach, legs, or other muscles.
- Don’t overdo . Do pelvic muscle squeeze exercise 2-3 times a day . You can do it any time without anyone even coming to know it . But don’t overdo it .
2. Squats
By doing Squats , you’ll be adding additional support to your pelvic floor.
How to do squats in a correct way ?
3. Bridge Yoga
https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/How-Do-Squats-8876316
4. Butterfly
How to do this pose correctly and what are all its benefits ? You may read here .
5. Happy Baby pose
Happy baby pose is good for your spine as well the muscles protecting your bladder .Simply lay on your back .Lift your legs and bend your knees, grabbing your big toe in each hand. Rock and sway from side to side, grasping your feet as you provide a gentle massage to your lower back and give your pelvis, hips, and thighs a good stretch.
These are some lifestyle changes which can help to decrease the stress incontinence symptoms among women to some extent .
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