More women than men suffer from urinary incontinence, or UI -- some so severely that it affects their quality of life and prevents them from enjoying social gatherings -- and exercising. Being able to hold your urine involves interaction between your brain and your muscles. Under normal circumstances, when your brain acknowledges that your bladder is full, it signals you to urinate. The muscle surrounding your urethra contracts and holds the urine back until you can get to a bathroom. Once you're there, it relaxes again. But in some people, certain conditions disrupt this process, says Neil Baum, M.D.
Causes
The most common cause of UI among women is damage to the sphincter muscle during pregnancy and childbirth. The sphincter muscle holds urine back until you're in a position to let it go. Loss of estrogen in menopause and a drop in collagen as you age can also contribute to the weakening of this muscle. In men, aging, certain medications and nerve damage can play a part.
The Effect of Exercise
Exercise, particularly certain aerobic activities, put more pressure on your sphincter muscle. When it's damaged or weak, incontinence results. Running, step aerobics and dance aerobics can all cause your other abdominal organs to come down on your bladder with about 25 lbs. of force. This impact against your bladder results in pressure against your sphincter muscle, and urine may leak or squirt as a result, depending on how strenuous your activity is, Dr. Baum says.
Treatments
Depending on how severe your problem is, solutions range from medications to surgical procedures. Your doctor can prescribe liquid inserts, encased in silicone, that you can insert in your urethra during exercise. It's painless and once inside, the liquid conforms to the shape of your body and blocks urine from escaping. When you're done exercising, the insert can be easily removed and thrown away. If your problem is particularly frequent or troublesome, consult your physician about this possibility.
Tips
You might also benefit from bladder control training. This essentially strengthens your sphincter, just as exercise does for the other muscles in your body. The process involves urinating when you awake in the morning and forcing yourself to hold it for a prescribed amount of time, normally a little longer than when you would normally go. It's difficult at first, but as your sphincter grows stronger, the process should become easier. When the appointed time comes, urinate whether you feel a strong need or not. Keep up the schedule and gradually increase the intervals between using the bathroom. Kegel exercises, which strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, may also help. These things take time. In the interim, many women use pads during exercise or switch to more low-impact exercises, such as swimming, until the situation improves.
