What to Do When Leaking Urine During Exercise
Is one of your new year’s resolutions for 2020 to get out and exercise more? Or maybe you’ve always been active and adventurous. Sometimes these activities can seem a little intimidating when you have bladder weakness and this is completely natural. However, we’d like to provide you with some tips on how to manage urine leaks during exercise.
Tips on How to Manage Bladder Weakness While Exercising
Involuntary leaks can be embarrassing and you may feel even more so during a workout. Here are some handy tips on how to cope with urine leaks during exercise.
1. Find a product to suit you
If you suffer from bladder leak issues, while working out, you may wish to consider using a hygiene product to help protect you from leaks. iD offers an affordable range of discreet products to suit all the needs. You should not use feminine hygiene products, as these are designed for thicker liquid and do not neutralise acid, which can lead to skin discomfort.
2. Do daily pelvic floor exercises.
Strengthening your pelvic floor can help to prevent leaks in general and especially bladder weakness while exercising. To find out more about the benefits of pelvic floor exercises and some examples, you can read our article here.
3. Quit smoking
Smoking is obviously incredibly detrimental to your health anyway, but it can also lead to increased coughing, which in turn can lead to more urine leaks.1 Consult your GP for advice on how to quit.
4. Drink plenty of fluids
Many people with bladder weakness may be tempted to cut down on how much water they’re drinking to avoid leaks. However, this actually worsens the problem, because it decreases your bladder capacity. Make sure to drink eight glasses of water a day and even more if you are exercising.
5. Avoid caffeine
Caffeine is a diuretic, so cut out tea, coffees and fizzy drinks before a workout to help lessen the change of leaks.2
If you would like to learn more about how a healthy lifestyle can actually help improve symptoms of bladder weakness, you may enjoy our article on eating healthily for your bladder or exercises to improve bladder weakness.
(1) “10 ways to stop leaks”, NHS, n.d., Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/10-ways-to-stop-leaks/
(2) “Don’t quick exercising because of urinary incontinence”, NAFC, n.d., Source: https://www.nafc.org/bhealth-blog/dont-quit-exercising-because-of-urinary-incontinence
1 Comment
Very interesting reading I am doing pelvic floor exercises but so far it’s still the same. I’ve also had 2 rounds of Botox which worked for a little while. Waiting to go back to see my consultant.