It’s all about strengthening your pelvic floor, especially as you age.
Going pee when you don’t want to is a pain. No one wants the inconvenience and embarrassment of a night out with friends ruined by an unexpected soiled outfit. Incontinence affects an approximate 25 million Americans, most of which are women over the age of 50. (Generally speaking, when you hear people talking about incontinence, BTW, they are referencing urinary incontinence which means the loss of bladder control that causes urine or pee to escape the body unexpectedly).
When you have a tiny bit of incontinence, no one knows but you. When the condition becomes a larger, however, and an uncontrollable issue, it can take a lot of your freedoms away.
Here are 5 exercises you can do on your own to keep incontinence at bay.
Kegels
What happens to cause all those pee problems? Urinary incontinence can develop when the muscles and nerves your body activates to allow you to pee don’t work as they should. Being overweight can lead to this, as well as things like pregnancy, childbirth, and going through menopause.
For years, experts have recommended Kegels as a regular form of incontinence prevention. Kegels involve strengthening your pelvic floor to reduce the occurrence of incontinence. You can start these exercises by identifying where your pelvic floor muscles are. The easiest way to do this is by stopping your pee mid-flow. Next, try to do this same muscle movement or contraction off the toilet. Focus on these muscles and do three sets of 10 Kegels each day.
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Bridging
In addition to Kegels, (which are the #1 best exercises for pelvic floor muscles), bridging can also help strengthen your muscles down below. Whether you suffer from stress, urge, overflow, functional, or mixed incontinence, it’s worth a shot.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your arms at your sides. Slowly push your hips up to the ceiling, arching your back. Squeeze your buttocks and hold for a few seconds before going back down. Repeat for three sets of 10.
Squats
Squats give you the added benefit of strengthening your pelvic area as well as your thighs and butt. Bend your knees and squeeze as you straighten your legs, targeting multiple muscle areas at once. As with the other exercises in this list, engaging in three sets of ten a few times a week can help.
Incontinence can target anyone at any age, but it’s also known to hit certain groups more than others. Caucasian women are said to develop the condition more than some minority groups and aging is always a factor for both men and women.
What else can you do? You can also help target your incontinence by adjusting your diet and what you drink. Avoiding alcohol and caffeine can often help, as well as steering clear of acidic foods like lemons, limes, and grapefruit.
For further tips on targeting incontinence and gaining more control in your life, check out the Mayo Clinic’s comprehensive page related to the topic online.
photo credits: ANN PATCHANAN/Shutterstock.com
