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What is stress incontincence? It’s a leakage of urine from movements and activities such as coughing, sneezing, and lifting that greater abdominal pressure on the bladder. Contributing factors include weak muscles in the pelvic floor (from pregnancy and childbirth, menstruation or menopause). Ah … I’m three for three and with three children, to boot! No wonder when I started boxing, my nemisis was jumping rope. It wasn’t just because I wasn’t fit enough to jump for two minutes. The jumping motion itself caused embarassing incontinence. Because I boxed with a group of moms and we were going through the same physical challenges, we could laugh at this, but it’s annoying! I make it a point to empty my bladder before boxing, especially when we start with the jump rope or even jumping jacks. That helps, but what really worked was pelvic floor muscles exercises, otherwise known as Kegel exercises. It’s a funny kind of exercise; it’s not noticable to the outsider but you can feel it as you do it. Still, it doesn’t feel like real exercise. It’s exercise cloaked in a veil of invisibility! First you have to identify your Kegel muscles which is best done in the bathroom. When you stop your urine mid-stream, you’ve found them! Now the tricky part. You don’t want to use any muscles other than those you’ve just identified. Contract for five seconds then relax for five seconds. If you are using muscles in your butt, abdomen or thighs, you are not doing it correctly. Deep breathing helps to relax the muscles you are not supposed to use. You can do these exercises lying down or sitting up. Do this exercise for 10 repetitions 3 times a day. You can do it on the go, in the car, at work … basically anywhere. It’s invisible exercise but it will make a big difference!
Don’t make a habit of using Kegel exercises to start and stop your urine stream. Doing Kegel exercises while emptying your bladder can actually weaken the muscles, as well as lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder — which increases the risk of a urinary tract infection. From the Mayo Clinic
Target has a subscription service to receive Always Discreet products that’s easy peasy to sign up for. Products like Always Discreet Liners and Pads will show up at your door with no one the wiser due to discreet packaging. My teen girls and I also appreciate the convenience of mail order delivery! It didn’t take long for me to build my pelvic floor muscles back up to pre-pregnancy strength. Now, I can jump away … or cough or sneeze or cough most of the time without any tell tale reminder to do my Kegel exercises. How about you? Do you Kegel too? Follow PragmaticMom’s board Parenting Share & Assist on Pinterest.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.