Many of us know the feeling — you have a great, big sneeze (or cough) and BAM, there’s that little bit of leakage.
You’re not alone in “peezing.” A majority of moms admit to some level of stress incontinence. But the amount of leaking or action (sneezing, jumping, etc.) that brings it on may differ.
And good news: there is something you can do about it!
Leaking is very common, but not normal!
And the issue with peezing is that it gets worse as you age. Because your pelvic floor is a muscle and if you don’t use it, you lose it. Working to regain strength in your pelvic floor can be started very early postpartum (the best time). But no matter how far postpartum you are, it’s never too late to start rebuilding pelvic floor strength.
Why does peezing occur?
While most women experience stress incontinence, few say they actually know why it occurs.
So here is the reasoning:
Pregnancy (adds tension to your pelvic floor muscle as your pelvis widens)
plus
Birth experience (increase in pressure and stress to pelvic floor muscle tissue)
equals
Major sprain/strain to your pelvic floor.
When other areas of your body experience sprain/strain (for example, an ankle sprain) you hopefully do some sort of rehab (like ice, heat, exercise, compress, elevate, rest).
But we typically don’t rehab our pelvic floor muscles. Even more, we don’t really know what we should do to help heal our pelvic floor — which leads to stress incontinence. And over time worsens peezing.
Ways Reduce Peezing
If you find yourself peezing often, you can do the following when you feel a cough or sneeze coming:
- Engage your pelvic floor muscle.
- Lean forward.
What other exercises can I do?
Below are my three favorite exercises that you can start now to help activate your pelvic floor muscles.
Be aware that when you start trying to use these muscles you might not feel much.
But over time you will start to feel little twinges from the muscles, and the more you do them, the more they activate. Soon you will feel these muscles engage more and more.
Chiropractic Care Can Help!
As great as these exercises are, an evaluation on your pelvic floor and core stability will ensure you have the exercises you need for your specific case.
Even better, creating balance (getting your pelvis adjusted) will create even more muscle activation ability and healing to occur — speeding up the process (and who doesn’t want that?).
Check out the video below for a how-to video on these exercises!
Still struggling with bladder leakage? Call Pinnacle Chiropractic & Rehab to talk to one of their chiropractors to find out how to find the relief you need. Dr. Jenny specializes in pregnancy and postpartum care and loves to help moms take care of themselves after baby.
About the Author: Dr. Jenny Heidt
Dr. Jenny is fully dedicated to providing chiropractic solutions to address your unique needs during and after pregnancy, whether you are experiencing back pain, neck pain, headaches, or even muscular tightness and tension.
She has received training from some of the top chiropractors in their profession in chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue therapies, and rehab.
