Incontinence

kimroberts

Cathlete
Have you ever experience stress incontinence? What age did it start? Can anything be done to cure it? 10,000 kegels maybe?
 
Mine started after childbirth. (age 27) no amount of Kegels totally prevents it. I just make sure my bladder is absolutely empty when I start to exercise, and sometimes I put a light pad inside my spandex shorts in case of any tiny accidents. It's horrifying and is one of the reasons I basically only work out at home. I do occasional spinning or swimming in a gym, but nothing with impact.
 
Hi Kim,
I've had this problem since my early 20's. For me, it started many years before childbirth. I did thousands of kegels during and after pregnancy with no results. I believe I was doing them correctly, but perhaps I wasn't. My mother has this problem also (quite seriously). Perhaps it's a hereditary thing. It's one of the reasons I started working out at home also. But hey, I found Cathe because of it, so maybe I should be thankful for my "little" problem.

I try to hold up my pelvic floor while doing high impact, jumping jacks, etc. and that helps a little bit. I find it very hard to concentrate on basicly doing a kegel through an entire workout and also concentrate on the choreography. Just know that you are not alone.

Have a happy new year!

Lisa
 
Mine isn't from impact. It's more like when I bend forward, for instance when I'm all bunched up doing like a child's pose in yoga or something where I'm crushing my bladder. Does that make sense?
 
According to Peggy Brill, author of "The Core Program: 15 minutes a day that will change your health," one cause of incontinence can be doing the wrong ab exercises. She says that most crunch exercises put too much strain on the rectus abdominus, and that core exercises (like "dead bugs," or plank position, and several others she shows) can better strengthen the abs (especially the often neglected transverse abdominals that can lead to lower belly pooch). Since I'm one of those "does-ab-crunches-till-they-hurt-but-still-has-a-lower-ab-pooch people, I've incorporated in my routine more of the kinds of exercises she shows in place of crunches. I haven't been regular enough with them yet (or with my workouts in general) to see a difference, but I can feel the work in my abs in a different way. One thing I like to do is bicycles (which rely more on core stabilization than on actually crunching). I like the ab section at the end of Power Hour (though I sub dead bugs, lower ab lifts and extra bicycles for the beginning crunches).
 
I read recently that it is very very common and yep, it's those kegels to strengthen those weak muscles.
 
Hi Kim, I remember reading that you teach or do Pilates. Do you do any work with the circle? If you sit on the floor, knees bent, feet on floor with the circle between your knees, you work the pelvic floor along with inner thighs. I feel this more than when I do Kegels. Maybe it would help. I've taken some of the Pilates exercises out of my mat routine because of squeezing the bladder and I've started using the book The Core Program that's been mentioned. Try not doing crunches, rollups, teasers, etc and see if it helps. You can always go back if you want.

Linda
 
I only experience incontinence of bladder and bowel when I read posts from some of these Lemmings on some of these forums!

Seriously, I have never suffered stress incontinence. I am 47 years old and think it's because the Firm introduced me to pelvic floor exercises (Kegels) early on.......

I have one daughter and have been pregnant 5 times.

I do Kegels regularly -- at my desk at work, etc., etc. daily.

Another tip I have always heard is to stop urine mid-stream -- this supposedly strenghtens the pelvic floor. So I do that too -- unless I've had too much water, then I pee like a race horse and can't quit!
 
Kim,

You might want to check with your OB/GYN about this problem -- it may be entirely benign, but I would definitely mention it to her/him.

Amy
 
Ha Mogambo!

I got out my dictionary and looked up "lemmings" also as I had never heard of it. When I saw it meant Northern rodents, I was a lil' shocked! :-wow! Wondering right along with you if there is a computer definition for it????

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
RE: a myth about lemmings

For quite a number of years, people were taught that lemmings would run off cliffs and commit mass suicide for reasons unknown to me exactly but I think it was just chalked up to instinct. This is a story which I believe has been proven to be erroneous - somewhat like Farley Mowat's wolf story "Never Cry Wolf" was a work of fiction.

Kim
 
RE: Ha Mogambo!

I found out that lemmings are people who blindly follow others off of metaphorical cliffs.
 
I have read that you should not stop urine mid-stream in order to strengthen the pelvic floor because it could lead to bladder infections. It is ok to do it in order to find which muscles you need to contract when you do Kegels, but you should not do this regularly.
Erica
 
I think National Geographic was involved in that

Sorry for taking this so off-topic!

I seem to remember something about National Geographic staging something like that and then having to wipe some serious egg of their faces for doing so. Anyone else remember that?
 
RE: It was either National Geographic or Disney Productions

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-08-02 AT 06:11PM (Est)[/font][p]For some reason, the Disney thing rings a bell but that is just a hunch. I do know you are right about the egg on face thing since I am pretty sure that lemmings do not run off cliffs to their death en masse.

Kim (another)
 

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