Engaging in high-impact activities, such as running, jumping, or heavy lifting, can be challenging if you have underactive pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that support the bladder, bowel, and uterus (in women) and play a crucial role in urinary and fecal continence, sexual function, and core stability. When these muscles are underactive, they may not provide the necessary support, leading to issues such as incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse.
Urine leakage during physical activity can be caused by having more force above the bladder compared to the strength of the pelvic floor muscles. As a result, the pelvic floor “holes” are unable to remain closed and therefore leakage occurs. High impact exercise such as running and jumping are repetitive and require pelvic floor muscles to have the endurance to function appropriately for the duration of the exercise (and beyond!).
Another factor that can contribute to leakage is breath holding during exertion, which is often the technique for weight lifting. Holding your breath increases the pressure within your thorax (chest and abdominal cavities) and creates a downward force on the pelvic floor muscles. If the pelvic floor muscles are unable to match the downward force, leakage occurs.
How to reduce leakage while exercising:
Just like other muscle groups, in order to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, it is necessary to contract and train them properly! It starts with learning how to do a Kegel but that’s only the beginning. With urinary leakage, it is importance to target the contraction of the muscles specifically around the urethra. Once you are able to appropriately contract these muscles, you then have to work on contracting them while lifting weight to increase muscular strength and performing high-impact repetitive exercise to build up muscular endurance. Just like your quads or calf muscles! It is important to also train these muscles to activate and strengthen in different positions, which change the length of the muscles. Some examples include: laying on your back, standing, squatting, or lunging. This will help transfer progress made with these exercises into reduced leakage during your gym routine or daily activities.
For more guidance and a personalized program, give us a call or click the "Request Appointment" button to meet with Dr. Marisa.
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