Good old incontinence affects 1 in 3 women - eeek!
So many women think this is just the way it is now. Good old mummy badge.....
Nope, nope, it is NOT the way it has to be! You can do something about it!
Incontinence can be caused by so many things
- weak bits
- uptight bits (much more common than you think!)
- slightly rearranged bits
Leaking - seriously common but not at all normal!
If this is you - pretty please find a women’s health physio or trainer or better yet both that can help x.
Bladder incontinence - fancy words for leaking or peeing yourself.
Seriously sexy stuff so many women experience, especially after child birth or menopause that nobody really talks about.
You know that moment when the trainer says, ‘grab the skipping ropes’ and your like shit let me go to the toilet first, or you feel a sneeze coming and you try and squeeze your legs for dear life hoping you’ll win the battle this time, or when you get home and the bloody key wont get in the lock fast enough to get inside to the loo, or, ‘Mum, mum come and jump on the tramp” - ahh no not today hun.
Yep incontinence - seriously common but not at all normal. There is soo much you can do about it.
As always this is not medical advice, and should not supercede medical advice just my humble ramblings after countless hours studying this stuff and working with lots of women to help bin the pads for good!
So if bladder incontinence is so freakin common but not at all normal, why oh why do we not all know that, and know how to remedy it?! To be honest I have no idea when it became part of the “normal postpartum reality” for so many women (I’d say when the medical profession was swamped with men - let's face it if their bits didn’t work properly on the scale that affects women - something would be done about it!). But it is my little mission to empower as many women as I can to live life without having to worry about your bits failing on you and leaking!
So bladder incontinence, there are two main types; stress incontinence and urge incontinence and if you are extra lucky you can get a mixture of both called mixed incontinence.
Stress incontinence is when your system leaks under load. What that load may be can vary massively from women to women. Think when you jump, run, lift, sneeze, laugh, or even yell at your kids. This is your systems way of saying woah I am not coping with the load you are putting through me right now and I need a little help.
Urge incontinence is when you get the overwhelming urge to go to the toilet even though you know you don’t really need to go. This can be absolutely random or it can be triggered by certain habits. Think when you get home and you are unlocking your door or when you first arrive at someones house, when you go to leave etc etc.
What causes incontinence?
As I mentioned above incontinence can be caused by so many things
- weak bits
- uptight bits (much more common than you think!)
- slightly rearranged bits
If you have a pelvic floor that is not as strong and responsive (weak bits) as it should be this can cause you to leak, especially when you put extra load through your system like a sneeze or jump. If this is your issue you have two options to avoid leaking; 1. eliminate all the activities in your life that make you leak - running, jumping, sneezing, coughing, laughing etc - yeah freaken right!! Or 2. strengthen your core so it is strong and coordinated enough to handle whatever you want to throw at it - definitely my approach! Now when I say strengthen, I do not just mean kegels. Yes kegels have their place but in my experience they are not the end of the journey but more the start - especially if you want to get back to running and jumping etc.
If you have an overactive pelvic floor (uptight bits) this can also cause you to leak. Think of your pelvic floor like a hamic that moves as you do and engages as load goes through your body. If you have overactive muscles, your muscles are engaged or somewhat engage all the time even when you are not loading your body. Think of your bicep being flexed ALL the time and you trying to go about your day like normal. Is your arm going to be able to do what it needs to do when it needs to do it? Nope! Uptight bits or an overactive pelvic floor are just the same! They are also more common than you think, with at least a third of the women I see having them. If this is your issue then you need to learn how to relax the muscles, in order for your muscles to be able to move through their full range of motion and do what they need to do, when they need to do it, aka when you jump or sneeze. Uptight bits can be a two stage process, first learning how to relax your muscles and then moving on to strengthening them. Yep that's the bad news - just because the muscles are overactive does not mean they are strong.
If you have a prolapse, damaged muscles or ligaments, scar tissue or stitches this can cause leaking. Yes a strong and functional pelvic floor goes a really long way to helping prevent incontinence (and a whole lot of other benefits) but it is not necessarily the entire story for everyone. As always I recommend every women should go and see a women’s health physio at least once and if need be a specialist as well. There are so many things that they can do to help from release work, fitting a pessary (bra for your bits), strength work, etc etc.
Now I could write a novel on this stuff and I have to seriously rain myself in so I don’t BUT it is not just all about your core. Hmmmm that is a weird thing for Lou the Core lady to say!? There is so much more to it than that! They way you load through your entire body has a huge influence on how your core can manage load. The way you hold yourself. The way you breath. Even what your feet and mouth do has a huge impact on your bits! Who knew!? Our bodies are seriously fascinating, resilient and adaptable machines. With the right encouragement I strongly believe anything is possible - especially being leak free!
As always - here if you want to chat or clarify my ramblings.
Lou x
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