Urinary Leakage with Exercise Troubleshooting

Top tips and strategies for Stress Urinary Incontinence

Created for Street Parking by Dr. Terri Robertson Elder, PT, DPT @terri.elder.dpt
*This is not a substitute for medical advice, please see a practitioner for individualized evaluation and guidance.

General Concepts:

• Different strategies work for different people, so expect some trial and error

• Leaking with exercise may be due to weakness, but often coordination plays a big role; a new strategy may offer a fast result (you may still need to build strength and endurance)

• Choose reps, intensity, etc that challenge you but stay just under the threshold of leaking to stress the system to adapt

• Tension to task: dial the tension in your body up/down depending on the need, many with SUI tend to overbrace

• Avoid bladder irritants: caffeine, sugar, alcohol, spicy foods

Single/Double Unders:

• Relax your pelvic floor (counterintuitive, but can be very helpful!)

• Stack your ribs/pelvis: arching your back or ribs flaring out may increase symptoms

• Breathing: try small exhales as your feet land

• Decrease reps/add in rest between sets and gradually build strength/endurance

• DUs: think high, slow singles

Box Jumps:

• Breath: try an exhale as you land, alternatively, try an inhale (try different breathing strategies!)

• Try to minimize impact by "landing softly" with less sound

• Gradually increase height and reps as you are able, consider fatigue as a factor and modify later in the workout as needed

Running:

• Try to land midfoot (rather than the heel)

• Lean forward a bit

• Avoid trying to time your pelvic floor contractions with landing- impossible!

• Try a shorter stride length (pro-tip: listen to faster music)

• As with all of these, consider fatigue and other factors (nutrition, stress), as you gradually build endurance