Running is a physical activity that many people enjoy prior to pregnancy and birth, however they avoid it after having a baby due to pain and/or leakage.
If you are avoiding running (or jumping) because you are experiencing leakage, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!
Leaking urine or feces can feel very isolating because while leaking after a baby has been “normalized” by society due to it being so common, many people continue to schedule their activities around their bladder capabilities.
For a lot of women, this means no longer running or jumping during exercise, or even stopping exercise all together.
This leaking upon exertion (running, jumping, laughing, coughing, sneezing, lifting something heavy) is called Stress Incontinence. When people hear the word incontinence typically they think total bladder control loss, however incontinence is defined as any sort of involuntary leakage (that includes just a dribble). So the word stress incontinence simply means any sort of leakage you experience when putting the body under stress, or increase pressure within your abdominal cavity. Without effective pressure management, that pressure goes toward the pelvic floor repeatedly. Think squishing a can with your foot-- eventually it will collapse and break due to the increased pressure.
The good news is...Pelvic floor therapy can help get you back to doing things that you want and need to do in life!!
A pelvic floor therapist can:
-check for pelvic floor tightness
-evaluate breathing and its affect on your pelvic floor
-help to reestablish good/even core control for adequate pressure management
-provide strengthening exercises for the pelvic floor and muscles surrounding the pelvis to create increased stability
Do you have leakage with running, jumping, or other life activities? Send us a message, we would love to connect and see how we can best support you!
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