Common doesn’t have to be your normal. This is a phrase I often share with the patients I work with and women who are interested in women’s health physical therapy services. For many reasons, women have come to believe that symptoms like leaking urine when they cough, sneeze, or laugh are normal. They don’t dare do jumping jacks, go for a run, or jump on the trampoline because they might leak, and rather than seeking treatment options, they settle for buying pads or signing up for surgery someday. They say “no” to hiking trips, walks with friends, playing ball with their kids, or even working out regularly because they struggle with leaking, vaginal heaviness, abdominal muscle separation, or back and pelvic pain.
Most women will struggle with these things at some point in their lifetime, and yet so many think that it’s just the way it is – that this is their lot in life because they’re a woman, they’re aging, or they’ve had babies.
But what if it didn’t have to be this way? What if you could do something about it that didn’t require surgery, buying pads for the rest of your life, or doing a hundred kegels daily? Every week, I see women who have completely changed their lives by deciding they no longer want to settle for these common issues. And they have been able to return to the things that they love!
If YOU want to see a difference, here are a couple of quick tips for improved pelvic health:
- Watch your fluid intake. We often think that “more is always better” when it comes to drinking water, but that’s not actually the case, and we CAN overdo it. Guzzling well over 100 oz of fluid is a large load for your bladder and pelvic floor. Decreasing this to 60-80 oz/day can make a big difference when it comes to leaking!
- Sandwich your caffeine or eliminate it completely. Caffeine is a bladder irritant, so your bladder wants it out! Drink a glass of water before and after your caffeinated beverage to dilute it.
- Stop going to the bathroom “just in case.” When we don’t listen to our actual urges, we send mixed signals to the brain, creating a habit of urgency and increased frequency.
- Sit on the toilet when you go to the bathroom, and don’t push your pee out. Both of these bad habits are associated with pelvic floor dysfunction.
- See Tanya at Refine PT! I’d love to help you make “common” no longer your normal. You can contact me at tanya@refine-pt.com, visit my website, refine-pt.com, or call me at 712-600-4645.
