If you pee (a little or a lot) when you sneeze or cough, chances are you’re peeing and jumping up and down when you laugh. If so, you’re probably one of the 22% of women who experience stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
Stress incontinence is the most common type, and women with SUI may experience urinary leakage when:
- Cough
- Sneeze
- Laugh
- Jogging/running
- Lift heavy objects
- Bend over
Most often, SUI results from weakened pelvic floor muscles. If the incontinence progresses beyond the points above, there is also a chance that you have a condition called pelvic organ prolapse, creating too much pressure on the bladder. And there’s a lot you can do to reduce or eliminate incontinence in most cases.
Stress Urinary Incontinence: Causes & Treatment
Always schedule an appointment with your OB/GYN or general practitioner when experiencing incontinence. Among other things, it puts you at higher risk for urinary tract infections (UTIs), and the sooner we find the cause, the sooner you’ll get treatment.
Causes of SUI
There are several causes of SUI, and while it can be common in women who have not been adequately guided around (or have neglected) exercises to maintain a healthy pelvic floor, incontinence is preventable in most cases.
Pregnancy/birth. Women who have become pregnant or given birth are 8% more likely to develop stress incontinence (expected in the immediate weeks/months, but should clear up after the first six months to a year if your body is healing well).
- Pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Pelvic organ prolapse occurs due to weak/stretched connective tissue in the pelvic area. This causes the pelvic organs to drop, straining the bladder and urethra.
- Age. All of our muscles and connective tissues weaken with age and the pelvic/bladder muscles are no exception. For example, about 13% of women between the ages of 19 and 44 experience SUI, but this number increases to 22% when women reach the age of 64.
- Drug side effects. Diuretics and certain other medications are known to increase a woman’s chances of incontinence.
- Smoking/drinking. Both smoking and drinking alcohol increase the risk of incontinence.
- History of pelvic surgery or trauma. If you’ve had pelvic surgery or trauma to the pelvis, the injured muscles and connective tissue may remain permanently weakened.
- Chronic constipation. Straining to have a bowel movement also strains/weakens the pelvic muscles/tissues. If constipation is a problem for you, talk to your doctor about diet and supplement changes to help you be more regular, relieving pressure on the bladder, urethra and other muscles.
Regardless of the cause, never assume you have to live with incontinence forever. As you can imagine, the sooner you address the issue, the better. For example, if you pee when you cough or sneeze because of weak muscles, they will continue to weaken without intervention – so why wait?
Treating stress incontinence
As with any health condition, treatments depend on the cause. However, in most cases, your doctor will talk to you about things like:
Lifestyle changes.
Take a look at your diet and lifestyle and make sure you’re eating for your health. Focus on one anti-inflammatory dietreducing or eliminating some alcohol, caffeine, and carbonated beverages, increasing fiber intake to minimize bowel motility strains, treating chronic cough, etc.
Strengthening the pelvic floor
A strong pelvic floor benefits every woman. While most people know about Kegels, there are many other exercises to strengthen the pelvic and core muscles that prevent or greatly minimize incontinence.
Also, there are tons of great YouTube videos ranging from yoga to physical therapy that focus on pelvic floor exercises that you can do at home, so do a search and try a few.
Maintain a consistent bathing schedule.
Muscle memory matters. Establishing a regular bladder emptying schedule – every two to three hours – helps keep it from getting too full or bursting. If you like to run, want to jump on the trampoline, etc., empty your bladder beforehand.
Honor the desire to go the first time.
Our busy schedules can mean we “ignore” our body’s signals. How often have you found yourself at the grocery store, busy at work, or waiting for a child at an after-school activity – (sub)consciously holding them until you “can go?” This is very bad for the bladder.
Holding back urine when you have the urge to pee increases your risk for stress incontinence because it strains and weakens the muscles of the bladder and urethra. Whenever you have the urge, excuse yourself from whatever you’re doing – honor your body – and go!
See a pelvic physical therapist.
Some pelvic physiotherapists specialize in treating incontinence. If you have more advanced SUI, seeing a pelvic physiotherapist is a better way to get personalized support and exercises. Most insurance providers pay for all or part of these sessions (which may be just once or twice, depending on your progress) with a doctor’s referral.
There are medications for incontinence, but these are not usually needed to treat stress urinary incontinence as it is a mild form and is usually managed with the above tips and treatments.
Women’s Health Associates treats incontinence
Ready to stop peeing when you cough? Visit us here at Women’s Health Associates. We help women with stress incontinence every day. We’ll provide more information on easy pelvic floor exercises and other ways to treat bladder leaks before they progress.
