Is it normal to pee your pants?

You actually are not suppose to leak urine when you couch, sneeze, run, jump and laugh. This is a form of urinary incontinence which brings us to today’s topic. We are going to dive into urinary incontinence, what causes it and more importantly what you can do to fix it for good. I bet you guessed it has something to do with the pelvic floor? Well you guess correctly!

We will cover a brief anatomy overview and go over normal bladder function. 

So what does this mean for us and how should you urinate? 

- sit on toilet

- relax pelvic floor

- bladder switches on to contract

- bladder empties

- bladder relaxes and pelvic floor muscles resume normal resting tone

Bad bladder habits

1. Powering peeing. 
2. Squatting. 
3. The just in case pee
4. Doing kegels while peeing. 
5. Dehydration. Holding in pee too long, i.e. at work 

Here is a quick list of bladder irritants I advise to stay away from or cut back on if you are have bladder issues. 

- alcohol

- caffeine

- citrus fruits

- sweets

- milk

- artificial sweeteners

- spicy foods

- tomatoes

Let’s talk next about what is normal for daily bladder function. 

- 5-8 voids in a day

- every 2-4 hours

- 0-1 pee after bedtime

A great technique for managing urge incontinence ( when the strong urge comes on) is to think “freeze, breath then squeeze.”

- Sit down when the urge comes on

- Breathe nice slow deep breaths

- Then contract your pelvic floor. Think squeeze and lift!

Healthy bladder tips

1. Go every 2-4 hours ( 5-8 in 24 hours). Keep in mind if you are drinking plenty of fluids you may go more often than this! 
2. No more “just in case” pee
3. Sit on toilet, don’t squat
4. No “power peeing” 
5. Avoid constipation: eat plenty of fiber
6. Drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water every day
7. Avoid bladder irritants we discussed above
8. Pee before and after sex
9. Orgasm. Yes you read that right! Orgasms strengthen the pelvic floor. You’re welcome. 
10. Work on your pelvic floor

Pelvic floor tips: 

• Work on kegels in isolation first not with other muscle groups or exercises. 
• Try to hold your contraction for 10 seconds
• Start with 30 reps and work your way to 80 a day!
• You want to try this for 6-8 weeks. 
• Once you can isolate you can make the exercise more functional. 
• Try the “knack.” If you tend to pee a little when you sneeze or cough try this technique. When you are about to cough or sneeze, do a kegel. This contract your pelvic floor and relaxes the bladder. You can train yourself to leak less!! 
• Progress your pelvic floor exercises once holding for 10 seconds in isolation for 30-80 reps a day becomes easy. You can try hold for an extra 2-3 seconds. You can work in other muscles groups. 
• Once you are feeling better, try to maintain with 10 kegels a day minimum. 
• If you are having trouble with kegels and feel you cannot get a good contraction please feel free to reach out to me for help or go see a local pelvic floor PT in your area! 

I hope you all find this information helpful! Follow Dr. allieflowersPT for more tips on instagram!