The Pelvic Health Series – Urinary Incontinence

Have you experienced running to the bathroom mid-workout, crossing your legs when you cough or sneeze, avoiding jumping, restricting your fluid intake or planning that “just in case pee” … you are not alone, and your pelvic floor might just need some attention!

A common pelvic floor symptom is urinary incontinence. This affects many individuals at many different stages of life and for a variety of individual reasons. Bladder leakage is often associated with menopause and postpartum but pelvic floor physiotherapists see other populations of people who experience this as well, who often struggle in silence without seeking help. Recent studies suggest more than 50% of people assigned female at birth experience urinary incontinence (1).

It is common for individuals who struggle with incontinence to avoid exercises they feel will increase their likelihood of leaking. Reasons being frustration with not being able to do as much as they’d like, feelings as if there is extensive planning around the activity, or even just the embarrassment that can accompany leaking or the sensation of leaking (2). These restrictions can have negative impact on mental and physical health when we begin to decrease activity, restrict fluids potentially leading to dehydration, or even avoiding engaging in social activities (2).

Some things to consider…

What is your pelvic floor?

This group of muscles creates a “bowl shape” of support housed within the pelvis. They act to not only help control our bladder and bowel movements, but to stabilize our core and pelvis, are a key player in sexual function, act as a sump-pump for blood and lymph to travel from the lower extremity back to our core, and keep our pelvic organs supported.

How do we engage or connect with this group of muscles?

Many people are familiar with the term kegels but often do not perform them correctly or at all. The relationship between these muscles and our respiratory system is critical for proper engagement and relaxation of the pelvic floor – which may be a contributor to bladder leakage. Your pelvic floor physiotherapist will do an comprehensive overview of how to find these muscles, engage them, lengthen them… and then more importantly how to translate that into a functional task to help decrease leakage with activity.

For example, holding our breath and the impact from activity can often contribute to these symptoms… so if you are someone who engages in higher-intensity activities like running, lifting weights, or jumping it may come down to the structures that are around and associated with the pelvic floor that can be contributing to your symptoms as well.

Where do we go from here?

To determine what may be contributing to your incontinence and get back to the activities you love, physiotherapists trained in the assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor will help you manage your symptoms and develop a treatment plan specific to you. To book an assessment, click here.

Who is Paige?

Paige is a physiotherapist, spin instructor, avid gardener and most proudly a mom to a spunky one year named Quinn. With advanced training in Pelvic Health and the assessment of the pelvic floor, Paige offers these services to help with pelvic, hip and low back pain, pregnancy and post-partum individuals, prolapse, bladder and bowel concerns… and much more.

To connect with Paige you can email info@movementokgn.ca

1. Patel UJ, Godecker AL, Giles DL, Brown HW. Updated Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in Women: 2015-2018 National Population-Based Survey Data. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2022 Apr 1;28(4):181-187.

2. Dakic JG, Hay-Smith J, Lin KY, Cook J, Frawley HC. Experience of Playing Sport or Exercising for Women with Pelvic Floor Symptoms: A Qualitative Study. Sports Med Open. 2023 Apr 25;9(1):25.