Sue Lewis Guest Blog
Do you suffer from bladder leaks & think it is normal after babies or at the menopause ?
Do you have STRESS INCONTINENCE - leaking when you jump, run, sneeze, cough or exercise?
Do you have URGE INCONTINENCE - when you need ‘to go’ you have ‘to go’ ?
What about an OVER ACTIVE BLADDER - always needing ‘to go’ ?
GIGGLE INCONTINENCE - when the ‘tears’ run down your legs (maybe on a girl’s night out perhaps with alcohol involved?)
LATCH KEY LEAKS - when you are arriving home & the key goes into the lock.
How do you cope when your bladder is being disloyal?
Are you aware of some of the following tricks to suppress your bladder urges & to keep your knickers dry?
Contract your pelvic floor muscles so your bladder can relax - zip up from the back passage, lift up through the vagina, close the front passage & continue zipping up your core muscles. Long holds to build up endurance to help you hold on longer & quick flicks or The Knack to activate the muscle fibres around the sphincters - remember to keep breathing.
Applying external pressure can help the pelvic floor contraction eg depending where you are from your hand or your heel (if sitting on the floor) or a rolled up towel (on your car seat) or the arm of a chair.
Try distracting yourself, counting backwards, reciting a poem or singing all will keep you breathing as well.
Talk to your bladder - tell it there is room inside it to fill up more & expand , that you don’t need to go now, that it is not convenient, that it can wait.
Don’t get worried - anxiety ( will increase the release of cortisol ) which will make the situation worse - relax & your stress levels will lower.
Stand still or cross your legs or lift your heels up & down or curl your toes or rub the backs of your calves.
Knuckle pressure to your top lip or sacrum can also help the urge to go away.
After 20 seconds the urge will go & you can walk slowly to empty your bladder if it is still needed.
The pelvis is a bony bowl & the pelvic floor is a web of supportive muscles attached to the bony points which work dynamically whenever we walk, sit, stand, squat, lunge etc.
Incontinence is not only due just to a weak pelvic floor (it can be too tight as well sometimes) but other factors can contribute to leakage.
How much you drink a day?
Not enough fluid & along with dehydration comes constipation and acidic urine that makes the bladder contract too early. Fill in a diary to check how much & how often you visit the loo.
What do you drink?
Caffeine in tea, (including Green Tea) coffee & chocolate.
Fizzy drinks (including water) alcohol, acidic fruit juices (artificial sweeteners) all irritate the bladder reducing these items gradually can help reduce leaks .
How do you empty your bladder & bowels?
Sitting with your knees higher than your hips - rocking your pelvis forwards & backwards can help the last trickle drain out of the bladder & supporting the front of your perineum while relaxing (not straining) ‘shushing’ can empty your bowels more effectively .