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Pelvic floor weakness is no fun at all…ask the 2.5 million women in Australia and New Zealand who suffer lack of bladder control or urinary incontinence. It is also worth noting that urinary incontinence is not just a problem for the elderly; women, young and old can suffer incontinence symptoms.
There are a number of ways that this problem can be addressed depending on the severity of the problem. If it is not too severer then you can try manual Kegal exercises. Kegel exercises tone your pelvic floor muscles. They strengthen the muscles around the openings of the urethra, vagina, and rectum. Just like doing sit-ups, these exercises work only if you use the right muscles, hold the "squeeze" long enough, and do enough of them.
Here is how to do them:
- Squeeze the muscles that you use to stop the flow of urine (but do not do these exercises while you are urinating).
- Hold for up to 10 seconds, then release.
- Do this 10–20 times in a row at least 3 times a day.
Be careful not to squeeze the muscles of the leg, buttock, or abdomen. Do these exercises on a regular basis. After 6–12 weeks, you should be able to hold your urine better.
If you are suffering from frequent urination (urge incontinence) or what they call stress incontinence then you may have to go a little further. One solution is adult diapers, such as Tena, but let’s eliminate this option until we are on our death beds. Fortunately we are not quite there, so we can explore much more palatable options; firstly we need to train our bladders with either the above mentioned manual Kegel pelvic floor exercises or by using an electrical stimulator such as the Dr Gyno pelvic floor strengthener. The Dr Gyno is a TENS machine (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) which is in the form of a probe which is inserted into the vagina, which in turn strengthens the vaginal walls and pelvic floor area. You need to use a machine like this every day for 30 minutes for approximately 60 days. The machine operates at different frequencies depending on whether you have urge or stress incontinence. Generally it pays to use your TENS machine on each setting for 15 minutes or so that way you cover all your bases so to speak. As well as eliminating the need to use adult nappies or some sort of adult pads or underwear, you can actually improve your sexual health. Most couples report an improvement in sexual satisfaction and sexual pleasure once the pelvic muscles are tighter, as well it must also reduce the stress and worry of accidental bladder leakage during sex. All and all there is a lot to be said about having a strong pelvic floor... the alternatives are not that great, so time for you to start squeezing and getting going with those pelvic floor exercises.
