Incontinence/peeing yourself/peezing/leaking…whatever you call it, we are here to tell you there is hope…to stop it! Yes – even postpartum. Yes – even if you leaked during pregnancy. Yes – even if your mother, grandmother, neighbor, and great aunt twice removed leaked. It is possible and also highly likely with the right support. So how do we get to the magical land of dry panties?

Follow these tips & stay tuned for some recommended exercises to follow

1. Notice when you leak and what you are doing – then mimic it

Notice if you pee when you cough/sneeze/laugh/jump/run or on mile 2 of run, when you’re fatigued, at the end of the long day, when you’ve been holding a little one or heavy object for a while or a combo of a few…and then let’s train for it!

We want to mimic the movements that create the leakage strategically so we can train our bodies to meet that demand. If you only leak when jumping on one leg on the trampoline – doing marching and dead bugs for the rest of your days may be a good start, but won’t get you to do the results you are looking for – not peeing yourself. This progression needs to be intentional so we recommend starting with the basics (regaining core and pelvic floor strength and stability) and progressing to these exercises.

2. Engage your pelvic floor before you leak

Think about engaging your pelvic floor (our favorite que is picking up a blueberry through your vagina) before you leak. Does that help? No? That’s ok, this is all good information to help you understand what you need.

3. Stack your ribs over your hips

Our alignment can create a less than optimal environment for our pelvic floor to do its job (maintain your pee!) so give it some help by aligning your ribs over your hips – this will allow your pelvic floor and core to work in unison.

4. Have a consultation with a pelvic floor PT if you can

Schedule a consultation (it can be virtual!) with a pelvic floor PT. Even if you only do one session this is a valuable tool to understand what your individual body needs and where to start!

Before you jump into some of these more advanced exercises below, first you want to have mastered relaxing and engaging your pelvic floor during some less “trying” exercises.  Think marches, bridges, clams, squats, deadlifts, etc. THEN – add on some complexity & starting training for when you leak.

Questions?  Schedule an assessment with on of our virtual pre/postnatal experts!

Recommended exercises if you leak during “high pressure scenarios” (sneezing, jumping, laughing…)