Peeing with Jumping Jacks?
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), is the involuntary leaking of urine with activities that increase pressure in the abdomen such as jumping, running, coughing or sneezing.
This is caused when the muscles responsible for keeping the bladder closed during normal activity cannot withstand increased pressure. Leaking is very common, but NOT normal after having a baby. It’s estimated that 30-40% of women who have given birth deal with stress incontinence. During pregnancy, the increased pressure of the fetus on the pelvic floor can cause these muscles to weaken. Add the trauma of childbirth, and it’s the perfect storm for less support from the muscles responsible for bladder function. SUI is more common after a vaginal delivery but also occurs after a C-section.
If you are leaking, it is vital to see a pelvic floor physical therapist for a pelvic floor assessment. Surprisingly, many cases of SUI are caused by an overactive, or tight pelvic floor as opposed to a weak pelvic floor. This means that performing pelvic floor strengthening exercises such as Kegels can actually make your symptoms worse.
SUI with running or jumping can also be the result of weakness in other muscles such as the hips or core. Weakness in these muscles can cause the pelvic floor to work harder than it should, resulting in pelvic floor overactivity. Studies have shown that strengthening the hips AND pelvic floor is more effective at reducing leaking than just pelvic floor strengthening alone. Your pelvic floor physical therapist can come up with a strengthening plan specific to your body.
In the meantime, here are three tips that can help if you are experiencing SUI with running or jumping.
Posture: make sure your ribcage is stacked over your pelvis and that your chest is not flared up when jumping. Your diaphragm, core and pelvic floor all work together to manage pressure in the body, and they need to be aligned to do so. If your ribcage is pointed up, these three structures can’t work in unison with each other which could contribute to increased pelvic floor pressure and thus, leaking.
2. BREATHE: when you are landing from your jump, do NOT hold your breath. Gently exhale as you land. If your core and pelvic floor are working together like they should be (something your pelvic floor physical therapist can assess), this will activate the pelvic floor without you having to do a Kegel (you definitely should not have to Kegel when running or jumping!)
3. Land softly. When coming down from your jump, you should not hear your feet pound the ground. Instead, your landing should be soft and subtle with your knees slightly bent. This will help your body absorb the force from the landing, lessening pressure on the pelvic floor.
This advice is no substitute for a full evaluation from a pelvic floor physical therapist, but is a good place to start if you are dealing with stress urinary incontinence.
At Cappuccino Physical Therapy, we specialize in returning Mamas to exercise postpartum, so if you are local to the Westlake Village/Thousand Oaks area and leaking with jumping jacks is something you are dealing with, give us a call to schedule an appointment today.
Cappuccino Physical Therapy is a pelvic floor physical therapy clinic in Thousand Oaks, CA.
