- How to treat urinary incontinence
- How To Do Incontinence Exercises
- How food can help
- Tips to prevent urinary incontinence
Menopausal urinary incontinence is a very common bladder problem, which occurs due to decreased estrogen production during this period. In addition, the natural aging process makes the pelvic muscles weaker, allowing the involuntary loss of urine to happen.
This involuntary loss can start with small amounts when making efforts such as climbing stairs, coughing, sneezing or lifting some weight, but if nothing is done to strengthen the perineum, the incontinence will worsen and it will be increasingly difficult to hold the pee, being necessary to use an absorbent, so it is important to prevent the progression of incontinence. Learn more about Stress Urinary Incontinence
How to treat urinary incontinence
Treatment for menopausal urinary incontinence can be done with hormonal replacement, indicated by a gynecologist, strengthening the muscles of the perineum or, lastly, through surgery to correct the bladder position.
Kegel exercises when done 5 times a day also help to prevent and treat urinary incontinence in menopause. For this, the woman must contract the pelvic muscle, as if interrupting the flow of urine during urination, and hold for 3 seconds, then relaxing and repeating this exercise 10 times.
How To Do Incontinence Exercises
To do the exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which are responsible for keeping the uterus and bladder properly positioned and the vagina tighter, first you need to imagine that you are peeing and try to contract the muscles of the vagina, as if you want to stop the stream of urine.
The ideal is just to imagine why it is not advisable to carry out this contraction while urinating because the urine may return, increasing the risk of infections. Other tips that can help identify how this contraction of the perineum should be performed are: Imagine that you are sucking a pea with your vagina or that you are trapping something inside the vagina. Inserting your finger into the vagina can help you know if you are contracting your muscles correctly.
During the contraction of the perineum, it is normal to have a small movement of the entire intimate region around the vagina and anus and also the abdominal region. However, with training it will be possible to contract the muscles without abdominal movement.
After learning to contract these muscles, you should maintain each contraction for 3 seconds, then relax completely. You must perform 10 consecutive contractions that must be maintained for 3 seconds each. You can do this exercise sitting, lying down or standing and with practice you can do it several times during the day while doing your daily activities.
How food can help
Eating less diuretic food is one of the strategies to be able to better hold urine, see the tips from nutritionist Tatiana Zanin in the following video:
Tips to prevent urinary incontinence
Some tips to prevent menopausal urinary incontinence are:
- Avoid drinking too much liquid at the end of the day Do regular Kegel exercises Avoid holding urine for a long time
Another important tip is to practice exercises under the guidance of a physical trainer or physiotherapist because it is essential to maintain the contraction of the perineum while performing physical activity, especially if performing impact activities, such as running, or doing body jump , as they can increase the risk of menopausal urinary incontinence.
