Incontinence is a term used to describe the inability to hold urine within your bladder. This can be caused by several factors such as pelvic muscle weakness after childbirth, enlarged prostate conditions, diabetes and Alzheimer's, according to FamilyDoctor.org. When experiencing any inability to hold your urine, it is important to seek medical assistance from your doctor -- as well as exercise your pelvic muscles in order to bring back the control of your bladder.
Kegel Exercise
Kegel exercises are the most common pelvic strengthening exercises for incontinence. To perform Kegels, identify your PC muscle by starting your urine stream then stopping it after a few seconds. Restart your stream and take note of the feel of your muscle used when starting and stopping. Tighten and loosen this muscle for five minutes twice daily whenever you go to the restroom or when you are relaxing at home, suggests the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois.
Bladder Training
Go to the restroom at set times during the day, and not in between. Start your timing at every 30 minutes to one hour, making sure you go to the restroom whether you feel you need to or not. According to FamilyDoctor.org, gradually extending your bathroom visits to every two hours then every three hours will retrain your bladder to hold your urine until your set restroom time. To fight in between urges, breathe in deeply through your nose and out through your mouth until the urge to urinate passes. FamilyDoctor.org also states that performing Kegels during urges may help too.
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation
In some cases, you may not be able to flex your PC muscle or stop the flow of urine with bladder training. In this case, your doctor can help with the use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation. According to the "Textbook of Female Urology and Urogynecology" small electrodes are used to force your PC muscle to tighten sporadically. This builds PC muscle strength and trains your brain to send signals required to tighten this muscle on your own after therapy has been administered.
References
- McKinely Health Center: Kegel Exercises for Urinary Incontinence
- Family Doctor: What is urinary incontinence?
- "Textbook of Female Urology and Urogynecology: Volume 1"; Linda Cardozo, David Staskin; 2006
