How Stress Affects Incontinence

Incontinence caused by stress is the most common form of incontinence. The statistics say that four in every one hundred adults suffer from incontinence. One out of every five women over the age of 40 has some form of incontinence caused by stress.

The kidneys make urine 24 hours a day. A trickle is going is being stored in the bladder and passed from the kidneys through the ureters. The bladder is a muscle that stores the urine. When the bladder stretches with urine, you have an uncomfortable feeling of the bladder being full. When you go to the toilet, bladder muscles squeeze and the muscles of the pelvic floor and urethra relax. This allows the urine to pass out of the body. It takes a complex message system between the bladder and the brain and your muscles to make the bladder work, as it should.

Stress incontinence causes the urine to leak if there is extra pressure, caused by stress on the bladder. The leakage occurs because the muscles of the pelvic floor and urethra cannot stand the extra pressure. Urine tends to leak most if you cough, laugh, or sneeze. Urine may also leak while doing exercises. Sometimes it may be just a small amount, but sometimes it may be a lot. This excessive leakage can cause embarrassment if you are unaware of the leakage.

Physical problems caused by stress may worsen incontinence. Obesity can cause stress incontinence, and stress can cause obesity. Stress affects diabetes, and one of the symptoms of diabetes is constant need to urinate. If your pelvic floor muscles have become weak, it will allow urine to leak from the bladder. Incontinence is common when a person ages, or becomes overweight and a contributing cause is weak pelvic floor muscles.

Incontinence can be treated with a simple exercise that strengthens the pelvic floor muscles. Six out of ten cases may be cured or improved just by doing a simple exercise for strengthening pelvic floor muscles.

Sit on a straight back chair with your knees slightly apart. Pretend you are trying to stop gas from escaping from your anus by squeezing the muscle around the anus. You should not be moving your legs or buttocks. This is the practice scenario for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.

When you are in the bathroom and passing urine, try to stop the urine in midstream. Slightly different muscles are being used in this exercise but are effective in making the muscles stronger. Try to stop the urine using this "stop test." You may be disappointed the first time when you are not successful in stopping your stream. It will take time and practice before you are able to completely stop the flow of urine.

Practice this simple exercise while standing or lying on the floor. You should do repetitions of five muscle contractions a minimum of five times each practice session. You should notice an improvement in your ability to hold your urine.

Next article: Try These Ways To End Your Day With Minimal Stress

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