Practise Kegel exercises to beat urinary incontinence

Kegel exercises have proved to be beneficial for people living with urine incontinence. Read on to know how and ways to perform these workouts plus other tricks to deal with the condition.

By: Editorial Team | | Updated: June 21, 2019 8:09 pm

Kegel exercises strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, responsible for your bladder control. © Shutterstock

There are many diseases that embarrass us and so we end up suffering them in silence. Urinary incontinence is one such health condition. It takes away our bladder control leading to leakage of urine. The consequence of a leaky bladder, where one loses control over urine is not only embarrassing, it is likely to take a toll on our self-esteem too while limiting our functionality to a large extent. If you are suffering from this condition, then you are not alone. Millions across the world suffer from urinary incontinence. However, the good news is, Kegel exercises are an effective weapon against it.

ALL ABOUT URINARY INCONTINENCE

To put it simply, this urinary condition is the loss of bladder control. It is not a disease, it is a condition, which can be triggered by weak pelvic floor muscles. These muscles help in preventing a leakage when the bladder is full till. When the muscles in the pelvic area become weak they find it difficult to resist the flow. This results in the leakage of urine or incontinence. There could be various physiological factors behind weak pelvic muscles.

Urinary incontinence can be of two types: Stress incontinence and urge incontinence. If you experience urine leakage due to coughing, laughing, exercising, or sneezing, you are suffering from stress incontinence. When your pelvic muscles become weak due to pregnancy, ageing, childbirth, and menopause you experience this type of incontinence. Injury or surgery in the pelvic area or obesity or chronic constipation could also be potential triggers behind your weak pelvic muscles.

In case of urge incontinence, you lose the control over your bladder if you suddenly feel the necessity to pee. It occurs when your bladder contractions are inappropriate due to a damage in the nerves and muscles responsible for it. Ageing, certain medications, diseases like stroke or an enlarged prostrate could be the culprits behind this kind of urinary incontinence. However, as already mentioned, it is not an irreversible condition. Kegel exercises have been found to be extremely effective in tackling this condition.

HOW DOES KEGEL EXERCISE HELP IN URINARY INCONTINENCE?

Kegel exercises are workouts that strengthen your pelvic muscles, responsible for bladder control. These workouts have been named after Dr Arnold H. Kegel, an American gynaecologist, the founder of this regimen. He created this routine in 1940s to tackle urine leakage which is the result of weak pelvic muscles.

Researchers at the University of Otago reviewed a spate of studies to compare outcomes exercises with no treatment. The findings revealed that study participants who did Kegel exercises had a 2.5-17 per cent higher chance of recovering from urinary incontinence than those who didn’t.

In another interesting study on Kegel exercises, researchers found that adding dance to this regimen can have fabulous outcomes for people living with urine incontinence. The fun element of dance motivated people to practise Kegel exercises more regularly. This further improved the strength of their pelvic floor muscles.

HOW TO DO KEGEL EXERCISES

These workouts involve contraction of your pelvic floor muscles. So, you need to start by identifying these muscles. They are basically the ones that you use while you want to stop the flow of your urine. Here is how you can perform Kegel exercise.

Just sit in a place or stand and squeeze the pelvic muscles
Concentrate on only using your pelvic muscles and not the muscles of your thighs, glutes or hips.
Hold the contraction for 1 or 2 seconds and release.
Repeat it 30 times, rest for a minute and then perform two more sets.
Do these four to 5 times a week.

You can also perform a slow version of this workout simultaneously, holding the contraction for up to 10 seconds. Increase your holding time gradually. While exercising, you should breathe normally and focus on the correct muscles. You can expect the results within 3-6 months.

SMART STRATEGIES TO TACKLE URINARY INCONTINENCE

Apart from Kegel exercises, there are various ways to deal with the condition. They include behavioural therapies, treating urinary infection, hormonal therapy and surgery depending on the condition and prognosis of the incontinence. Here are some natural ways to tackle incontinence.

Resort to adult diapers/pads

This is one of the easiest and effective ways of countering incontinence. Using diapers can help you prevent soiling your clothes and save you from embarrassments if a restroom is not around.

Go slow on tea or coffee

They are diuretics and can lead to an urge more often. So limit your intake to reduce episodes of incontinence. Also, you need to be mindful of other fluids that you take through the day. While you shouldn’t drink too little water, too much of it can also worsen your symptoms. A Research and Reports in Urology study suggests that you should avoid liquids 2-3 hours before bedtime. Also, do not drink more than 6-8 glasses of water every day.

Watch your weight

Obesity leads to loose abdominal and pelvic muscles which could be a reason for bladder failure. Shed those extra kilos by eating mindfully and staying active.

Rely on herbs and supplements

Chili peppers can act as a natural remedy for urinary incontinence. A compound named capsaicin present in it does the trick. Pumpkin seed extracts are also good options. There is scientific evidence suggesting that it is good specifically for night-time urine leakage.