Quick Bladder Tips
Do you leak a little when you laugh, cough, or sneeze? Are you wetting yourself when exercising? If so, it may be that you have a condition known as stress urinary incontinence (SUI). What about urinating more than 5-8 times during the day or the sudden, strong urge to urinate? This would be considered urinary frequency. You are not alone in this!
The three diagnoses above are sometimes associated with each other. SUI can be due to pelvic muscle weakness and/or decreased support to the bladder and urethra – which can lead to urinary leakage during activity. Urinary frequency and urgency may occur due to increased tone and/or decreased strength of the pelvic floor muscles.
Here are some tips to manage the diagnoses above!
SUI Tips:
- Perform the “knack” – a strong pelvic floor contraction just before you cough, sneeze, bend or lift.
- Empty your bladder before exercising.
- Decrease heavy lifting.
- Decrease risk factors of smoking and obesity (increased abdominal fat can place a great deal of pressure onto the bladder).
Urinary Frequency & Urinary Urgency:
- Maintain adequate hydration: drink ½ body weight in ounces / lbs.
- Avoid bladder irritants.
- Skip “just in case” trips to the bathroom.
- Meditation / mindfulness techniques.
Questions about these tips?
We offer up to one hour private one physical therapist to one patient treatment sessions. Each treatment session includes adequate time to evaluate/re-evaluate, provide individual treatment time and provide individualized home exercise programs. We are located in downtown Manhattan near the Brooklyn Bridge.
