Exercises for Stress Incontinence

Stress incontinence is a condition that primarily affects women and results in a loss of urine when performing strenuous activity, like lifting, sneezing, coughing or laughing. When the muscles that control when you do and do not urinate are weakened, some urine may leak out when the abdomen is placed under pressure. Some common causes include childbirth, injury to the nervous system, prostate surgery in men or other pelvic surgery. Luckily, several exercises can be done to lessen the instances of incontinence.

Kegels

A common pelvic exercise is called the Kegel. This exercise involves contracting and releasing the pelvic floor muscles repeatedly in an attempt to tone the area. To identify the correct muscles to contract, while urinating, try to stop the flow. The muscles you used to stop the flow of urine are those you should contract and relax throughout the day to tone your pelvic floor. The great thing about Kegels is you can perform them anywhere at anytime without anyone being the wiser.

Vaginal Cone & Kegels

You can boost the effectiveness of Kegels by using a device called a vaginal cone. The vaginal cone is simply a cone-shaped item that is inserted into the vagina. Then you perform Kegels as you normally would. However, the intent is to contract the muscles to keep the cone in place and not let it slip out. When repeated twice a day for 15 minutes up to six weeks, a noticeable improvement in the tone of the pelvic floor should be noticed, making stress incontinence a rarer occurrence.

Biofeedback

While not a physical exercise, biofeedback is an exercise of the mind and helps you learn how to control your body's responses. So, instead of contracting your pelvic floor muscles in an attempt to tone them, you would instead learn to control your body's attempts to release urine under stress by becoming aware of what it feels like when you need to urinate.