Healthy Mom 1: Cold and Flu Season Around The Corner, Keep Your Pants Dry!

Do you think peeing your pants while you exercise, sneeze, or run to the toilet is normal? I have some great news. This is not normal! Its super common but NOT NORMAL! And there is even something you can do about it!

“I have two kids, I want to go to join an exercise class but I pee when I work out and I can’t stomach the embarrassment, not to mention I have a lingering cold and the coughing is making it almost impossible to keep my pants dry”

Said, Melissa, a 43 year old, busy mom of two kids (5 and 7). She doesn’t remember this being as bad when she first had her kids but now she is leaking urine all the time and she is so worried that people smell this on her. She wears pads so people don’t notice and she always carries extra clothes. The doctor told her after she had kids that the symptoms will go away but now her youngest is 5 and it has only gotten worse. She jokes around with her friends and a few share her concerns too. Melissa thinks this is a normal part of having babies but now that its worsening she is at her wits end of dealing with it.

Could This Be Happening To You?

Urinary incontinence is a loss or urine when you are not intending to go.  There are three main types. Urge Incontinence, stress incontinence, or mixed urinary incontinence. Urge incontinence is classified as increased frequency which would be going more than 10x in a 24 hr period (normal range of peeing is 6 to 8 times during a 24 hour period). It also means you could be triggered and get an urge to go when you hear running water or simply when you put the key in your door when you get home and you automatically think you have to go so bad, you may pee your pants. Stress Incontinence is the loss of urine with sneezing, coughing, jumping, running or any kind of stress to the system. Mixed urinary incontinence is the combination of both.

In general, when you pee, the urine should flow easily without discomfort in a good, steady stream until the bladder is empty. No pushing or straining is necessary to empty the bladder.

There are many misconceptions about treatment options today.

Unfortunately Melissa suffered with this for a long time. She resisted taking the medication because she didn’t want to deal with the side effects, she went to the chiropractor and had acupuncture but those didn’t help, she did kegals, and her doctor told her she wasn’t a candidate for surgery until she was sure she was done having babies. Deep down, even though she knew she was done, she didn’t want this surgery to be the final ticket that secured her fertility future.

After years of disappointment, shame and near daily constant embarrassment she got better. Melissa gained a new sense of confidence and even energy! Simply put, Melissa was a new person.
Here’s what helped Melissa:

1. ​Melissa started a bladder diary and explored this with a pelvic expert physical therapist that guided her to regaining control of her bladder.
2. Melissa actually didn’t need to be doing kegals. You see Melissa’s pelvic floor was already contracted and kegals were only making the situation worse. Melissa learned the essential components of Down Training
3. Manual therapy techniques to balance and restore her pelvic floor and entire body
4. Established daily habits that help secure her confidence in her continence 

By taking a big-picture, full-body approach to rehabilitation, Melissa was finally able to heal and enjoy her busy life of keep up with the kids and she was much healthier because she was no longer keeping herself out of exercises classes.

If you have been struggling with incontinence for longer than a few weeks and you want to learn more about what the ‘root cause’ could be…


At Body Motion Physical Therapy we offer a Free wellness screen at our ‘Discovery Visits’​


You will have a private session with a pelvic expert Doctor of Physical Therapy here at Body Motion Physical Therapy, where you’ll get a chance to:

1. ​Share your concerns, problems and frustrations you may be having
2. Meet us in person, to see if we’re a good fit before you ever decide to work with us
3. A glimpse into your life to help you see exactly what could be causing your incontinence and tell you the root cause of WHY you may be hurting.

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All you need to do is fill out this web-form​, and tell us a bit more about what’s going on, and we will have a conversation about how we may be able to help.
Sincerely,


Dr. Allison Feldt, DPT, PT
Doctor of Physical Therapy