One in 10 women experiences leaks daily. Here, a gynaecologist reveals the common pelvic floor mistakes that could be making things worse
Stopping mid-flow
When you pass urine, the muscle of the bladder contracts and the pelvic floor muscles relax. If you contract your pelvic floor midstream this can result in the bladder relaxing, assuming it has emptied. If this happens regularly it can lead to dysfunction of the bladder, ongoing problems and overactive bladder.
Going ‘just in case’
Repeated contraction of the bladder when it is not full is ‘teaching’ the bladder to empty small volumes. This results in more frequent toilet trips and more chance of incontinence. Bladder retraining is often used to reverse this issue.
Hovering over the toilet
Tensing and hovering over the seat rather than sitting on it often leads to contraction of the core muscles, including the pelvic floor, which may lead to us needing to contract our bladder more aggressively to pee. This can contribute to issues such as overactive bladder and increases the chance of urinary tract infections.
Excessive straining
Light contraction of the bladder is all that is usually needed to allow it to empty, so forcing it out quickly can result in damage to the pelvic floor. The opposite is also true — holding the bladder for too long can then lead to issues with poor bladder contraction and incomplete emptying.
Sitting on the toilet too long
If we stay sitting on the toilet too long it can lead to our pelvic floor staying relaxed for too long, which can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction. So, allow 15 to 30 seconds after finishing to make sure your bladder has fully emptied, but then get up.
• From Intimina’s in-house gynaecology expert Dr Susanna Unsworth.