November Awareness….yes I know it’s December, you may have saw my stories to understand. Coming in late to the party….
November Awareness is all about the bladder and a common issue some women experience in relation to the pelvic floor is incontinence, leaking urine.
Here are some tidbits:
1. What supports the bladder?
The bladder is supported by your pelvic floor muscles. One of the suggestions of how to find your pelvic floor muscles is to stop the flow of urine. This can be beneficial but also harmful if over done. There are many other ways and visualizations of how to locate the muscles. There is also not just one muscle involved, there are layers of muscles that contribute to not only help support(lift) but also help squeeze those muscles. You need both the lift and the squeeze to provide correct functioning.
2. What’s considered normal with leaking urine?
Nothing. Nothing about that is normal. It may be common but it is not normal, to pee your pants.
There are 2 types of incontinence, urge and stress. Urge incontinence is when you feel like you won’t make it to the bathroom or leak a bit once you get there. Stress incontinence occurs when you increase the demand on the bladder through impact or activity (running, jumping, coughing, sneezing). Identifying which type you have is needed to determine how to help you stop leaking. If you have incontinence, you may think your pelvic floor is weak and you need to strengthen the muscles but in reality, you may have a tight pelvic floor and you need to learn how to relax the muscles.
3. Should I restrict how much I drink?
Not necessarily, you want to stay hydrated. Lots of women will restrict fluid intake to decrease change of leaking but studies show this is irrelevant to leaking. Some need to monitor the type of fluid they drink such as caffeine, as it can irritate the bladder. H20 is always a good choice for a drink.
The colour of your pee and smell (there shouldn’t be an odor) matters. If you drink too much, your pee will be clear, if don’t drink enough, it will be dark. You want to aim for a pale/ light yellow colour.
If you do experience leaking, it is important for a healthcare provider to gather a full health history to look at the big picture and all areas of your life, to examine what is going on. If you would like more information, reach out for an assessment.
Show your pelvis some love.
Pelvic Hygge 