Stress urinary incontinence is often associated with pregnancy and postpartum recovery, but your pelvic floor doesn’t suddenly become relevant when you have a baby. Leaking with sneezing, laughing, jumping, running, or exercise can happen at many different stages of life, from teenage athletes, runners, CrossFit athletes, and women going through or after menopause can all experience it.
The word “stress” here of course doesn’t mean emotional stress. It refers to physical pressure placed on your bladder, like when you cough, sneeze, jump, lift something, or exercise. When that pressure increases, the pelvic floor muscles and other structures that help support the bladder and urethra need to respond quickly to help keep urine in.
And while leaking with these activities is common, common does not mean you have to consider it normal for your body or something you simply have to live with.
A lot of women get used to carrying a pad in their gym bag, crossing their legs before they sneeze, or avoiding certain exercises because they’re worried about leaking. Sometimes it starts after having a baby and you’re told to give it time. Other times, it slowly becomes something you work around without ever really asking whether anything can be done.
The good news is that there are treatments that can help.
Pelvic floor muscle training is considered a first-line treatment for stress urinary incontinence. But pelvic floor therapy is not simply about doing more Kegels. Your pelvic floor needs to be able to contract when you need it, coordinate with your breathing and movement, and relax when it needs to. It also works together with your deep core, hips, and glutes to help manage pressure and support your body during movement. If those muscles aren’t coordinating well, you may still leak even if your pelvic floor itself is strong. This is why pelvic floor therapy looks at the body as a whole rather than treating the pelvic floor in isolation. A pelvic floor physical therapist can look at how your muscles are working together during the activities that cause you to leak and help determine what your body actually needs rather than giving you a one-size-fits-all exercise program.
Your first visit is also more than just being told to “do your Kegels.” Your physical therapist will talk with you about when you leak, what activities trigger it, how much it affects your daily life, and what you want to get back to doing. If appropriate and with your consent, they may also assess your pelvic floor muscles and how they coordinate with your breathing and movement. From there, you can work together on a treatment plan that fits your symptoms and your goals.
You don’t have to wait until leaking is interfering with everything you do before asking for help. Whether you’re leaking after having a baby, during workouts, on the trampoline with your kids, or when you sneeze unexpectedly, it’s worth knowing that there are options.
Leaking is treatable. Here’s what a first visit looks like
Looking to optimize your well being with pelvic floor physical therapy? Reach out to us at Pelvic Health Center in Madison, NJ to set up an evaluation and treatment! Feel free to call us at 908-443-9880 or email us at [email protected]. We are in-network with several insurance plans and can help you confirm your benefits before your evaluation.