Why do I leak when exercising?
Find yourself leaking when running, jumping or squatting?
You are experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction, more specifically known as stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Note: bladder leakage at any stage of life might be common, but not normal. SUI is very common and treatable once you take proper action.
What causes leakage when exercising?
Typically, there’s an imbalance of pressures that occurs in your midsection that results in urine leakage during physical activity. With this imbalance, pressure above the bladder exceeds the strength of your pelvic floor muscles.
Why does this pressure imbalance happen?
Pelvic floor muscle weakness: this can happen from repetitive dynamic impact (i.e. runners, gymnasts, basketball players, Crossfit activities like box jumps or jump roping)
Holding your breath: a classic culprit of urine leakage with activities such as lifting weights or quick high impact sports (i.e. softball, tennis, soccer)
Imagine you midsection/belly as a pressure canister. The top is your diaphragm, bottom is your pelvic floor. In a normal state, this pressure is naturally coordinated without effort. When you hold your breath, the pressure that was originally higher up by your diaphragm shoots down onto your pelvic floor, which results in urine escaping.
How do I fix it?
A quick & easy way to relieve this pressure during movement is to coordinate your breathing - exhale on exertion.
Example: squats
Begin in standing position
Inhale through the nose as your descend down into the squat
Exhale out through the mouth as you rise to standing. During the exhale, draw the pelvic floor muscles up & in as if you want to stop the flow of urine.
Your pelvic floor therapist will assess your movement patterns, walk you through various breathing techniques specific to the movement dysfunction you’re having to hone in and eliminate your symptoms.