Exercises To Reduce Male Urinary Incontinence
Urge or stress incontinence in men is a common problem, but the good news is that you may be able to improve your condition with certain male urinary incontinence exercises. In some cases, pelvic floor exercises or Kegel exercises may reduce bladder leakage in just a few months or less than a year.
Yarlap Kegel Trainer With Autokegel Technology
The third exerciser on our list is the Yarlap Kegel Trainer, which helps to correct bladder leaks, urinary incidence and also unexpected urges to urinate. The exerciser is very efficient in strengthening the lower pelvic muscles. Yarlap has been in the pelvic muscle industry for a while now and has made a name for itself as one of the top companies when it comes to quality.
As such, the exercisers are not only safe to use but also clean and extremely comfortable. To clean the exerciser, just use hand soap and let it air dry. To make sure that you do not lack anything, the kit comes complete with a pelvic muscle stimulator, an easy to read backlit display, and a 9-volt battery. The backlit display enables you to see the readings even in a dark room. The exercises also come with six programs to help you have well-coordinated exercises.
The exerciser is also FDA approved which means that it is extremely safe to use and will not cause any health-related complications.
PROS
- Can cause an infection if not properly washed
Behavioral And Lifestyle Changes
Changing your lifestyle may help with bladder problems. Losing weight, quitting smoking, saying no to alcohol, choosing water instead of other drinks, and limiting drinks before bedtime can help with some bladder problems. Preventing constipation and avoiding lifting heavy objects may also help with incontinence. Even after treatment, some people still leak urine from time to time. There are bladder control products and other solutions, including disposable briefs or underwear, furniture pads, and urine deodorizing pills that may help.
Visit the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for more information on urinary incontinence in men and urinary incontinence in women.
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Treating And Managing Urinary Incontinence
Today, there are more treatments and ways to manage urinary incontinence than ever before. The choice of treatment depends on the type of bladder control problem you have, how serious it is, and what best fits your lifestyle. As a general rule, the simplest and safest treatments should be tried first.
A combination of treatments may help you get better control of your bladder. Your doctor may suggest you try the following:
What Causes Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence can be caused by various factors childbirth, aging, heavy lifting, being overweight, and surgery being the most common factors. It usually happens when the perineum has been overstretched or weakened and is, therefore, less effective in controlling our bladder and stopping us from urinating.
As the perineum helps with the passage and control of urine, its essential to keep it secure and healthy to avoid small accidents that can be common when we exercise, laugh, or just really need to use the bathroom!
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How Soon After Starting Kegel Exercises Will Urinary Incontinence Get Better
It may take 4 to 6 weeks before you notice any improvement in your symptoms.10
Kegel exercises work differently for each person. Your symptoms may go away totally, you may notice an improvement in your symptoms but still have some leakage, or you may not see any improvement at all. But even if your symptoms dont get better, Kegel exercises can help prevent your incontinence from getting worse.
You may need to continue doing Kegel exercises for the rest of your life. Even if your symptoms improve, urinary incontinence can come back if you stop doing the exercises.
Male Incontinence Exercises Arent A One
Male incontinence is not nearly as prevalent as female incontinence, with only 3 to 11% of men affected. Of those men, however, 40 to 80% experience urge incontinence while less than 10% are affected by stress continence. Luckily, both urge and stress incontinence can usually be managed through exercise.
Male incontinence exercises will differ depending on the cause of your incontinence, which s why making diagnosis an important first step before engaging in an exercise routine.
For example, if youre experiencing an obstruction, exercises will be of little help. But, if your pelvic floor has been weakened over time or as a result of surgery, exercise may prove beneficial.
Speaking with your doctor as soon as you experience urinary leakage is a critical step in properly managing and treating your condition.
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When To Do Kegel Exercises
Most people prefer doing Kegel exercises while lying down on a bed or sitting in a chair. You can do them in any position you feel comfortable in. Doing Kegel exercises while standing can be very helpful because thats usually when urinary leakage happens.
To keep your urine from leaking, try to do a Kegel exercise before these activities:
- When standing up.
Drink Plenty Of Water
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day unless your doctor advises you otherwise.
Many people with urinary incontinence avoid drinking fluids, as they feel it causes more problems. However, limiting your fluid intake makes incontinence worse, because it reduces your bladder’s capacity.
Not drinking enough fluid can also cause constipation or make it worse.
Find out which are the healthiest drinks.
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Utkatasana Or Chair Pose
The utkatasana can be adapted to help build an awareness of the pelvic region and the muscles that control urine flow.15
- Begin in tadasana or mountain pose, standing with your feet together.
- Align your head, pelvis, and torso so that the centers of your head and pelvis line up.
- Inhale raising your arms up, palms facing each other until they are overhead.
- Exhale, keep your arms extended as your interlink your fingers and invert them to face the ceiling. Stretch your arms a little more. Continue to breathe. Extend a little more with each exhalation.
- As you exhale, bend your legs deeply, with your inner thighs, knees, and feet still firmly glued to each other and heels flat on the ground.
- Let your lower spine open and rotate your pelvis back. Stop moving the pelvis as soon as you feel a contraction in your pelvic floor muscles.
- Now focus on the lower abdominal muscles that are just above your pubic bone and gently draw them in.
- Next, contract your pelvic floor muscles as you do in a Kegel, to stop the imaginary urine flow.
- Hold for multiple breaths and then release. Return to the original position.
Do Kegels Help With Incontinence
If youre experiencing a type of urinary incontinence caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles or the urethral sphincter, Kegel exercises for bladder control can help. For both men and women experiencing stress incontinence, exercises such as Kegels or squats can be easy to work into a daily routine.
Find the right muscles by stopping the flow of urine. Later, with an empty bladder, contract and hold that muscle for 3-5 seconds with a similar rest period in between.
In the beginning, work up to 10 repetitions a day and gradually increase to three sets daily. Increase the holding and releasing time up to 10 seconds as muscles get stronger.
Because no one can see you performing these, its common to forget to do them on a regular basis. Set an alarm on a phone as a reminder or create an exercise journal to track performance and progress as well as any changes in incontinence frequency or volume.
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When To Seek Medical Advice
See a GP if you have any type of urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence is a common problem and you should not feel embarrassed talking to them about your symptoms.
This can also be the first step towards finding a way to effectively manage the problem.
The GP may also suggest you keep a diary in which you note how much fluid you drink and how often you have to urinate.
Find out about diagnosing urinary incontinence.
What Are Bladder Control Exercises
Almost 25% to 33% of the US population suffers from a weak bladder1.
Kegel exercises are considered one of the most authentic and non-surgical ways to enhance a weak bladder. As a weakened bladder causes the weakening of your pelvic floor muscles, these exercises aim at supporting them. They involve only your pelvic muscles and not your stomach or chest muscles.
In general, these bladder control exercises are highly effective for stress urinary incontinence. However, they can be performed by those suffering from urge incontinence as well.
Notably, men suffering from urinary incontinence after prostate surgery can benefit significantly by doing Kegel exercises for strengthening purposes. By strengthening the muscles controlling the urethra, bowel, and bladder, it makes it possible to better control incontinence and potentially even reduce it significantly.
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Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor
A weak pelvic floor can make you more susceptible to SUI. To learn how to strengthen it, make an appointment with a physical therapist who will teach you not only how to correctly perform a kegel, but also how to strengthen your whole core. You see, while the pelvic floor is important, its only one part of the equation. Your core muscles, hips, thighs, and glutes all play a part of maintaining proper alignment so its important to include these muscles in your daily workouts too.
Your PT will also teach you how to properly relax your pelvic floor. Pelvic floor muscles that are too tight can also be an issue with SUI, so you must learn to relax these muscles as well.
Kegels For Bladder Urgency And Urge Incontinence
Bladder urgency and urge incontinence is a problem experienced by women of all ages. The bladder urge usually strikes suddenly as the bladder muscle contracts without warning.
Women often experience bladder urgency when getting in the shower or putting the key in the door. Practice repeated Kegel strong holds until urge dissipates. The urge will dissipate as the bladder muscle relaxes. Its often helpful for beginners to practice this Kegels technique when the bladder is not completely full.
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How Long Does It Take For Nerves To Heal After Prostate Surgery
How long does nerve regeneration take? Recovery of potency may be very rapid in younger patients and is sometimes immediate. However, for most patients the recovery is gradual and can take up to 3 years to plateau, although typically a patient sees a return to erectile function after about 12 months.
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What Can Happen If You Do A Kegel Incorrectly
Women often incorrectly contract their buttocks or gluteal muscles, or inner thighs, and basically squeeze their thighs together. Many strain and increase their abdominal pressure. Thats not good for two reasons. One, its ineffective. And two, straining results in the opposite effect. Chronic straining is a risk factor for developing and worsening problems like pelvic organ prolapse or stress incontinence.
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Drink Enough Fluids To Keep Your Bladder Happy
Drinking less water and other fluids to decrease your risk of an accident is not a good idea, says Tomas Griebling, MD, a professor of urology at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and president of the Geriatric Urological Society of the American Urological Association. While its true that chugging down a lot of fluids especially in a short amount of time can lead to leaks, not drinking enough can also make you need to pee suddenly.
When you dont drink enough water, the urine becomes more concentrated and that can be irritating to the bladder and increase urgency, explains Dr. Griebling.
How much fluid is enough varies from person to person, but the National Association for Continence estimates that six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day is about the right amount. Checking the color of your urine can help you know if youre on target, according to Harvard Health. In general, a pale yellow color means youre adequately hydrated, while a darker yellow suggests you need to drink more.
More Benefits Of Kegel Exercises
Other benefits include-
Reduce Fecal Incontinence for Proper Bowel Control
According to some particular reviews, doing kegel exercise for at least three times a day for more than five weeks showed better control over your urine flow. It supports the bladder and bowel, which in return, help reduce incontinence.
Practicing Kegel Exercises During Pregnancy Can Reduce Discomfort.
Executing kegel exercise is one of the most impactful remedies for pregnant women it helps by strengthening the muscles that support the bladder, uterus, and bowels.
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Best Positions To Do Kegels For Bladder Control
There are 3 main positions for doing Kegels for bladder control.
- Sitting upright
The best position for Kegels to stop bladder leaks is training standing upright because this is the position youre most likely to experience bladder leakage.
Beginners or women with weak pelvic floor muscles often find the best Kegeles position to start training is either lying down or sitting. Start out by using the Kegels training position where you can best feel your pelvic floor muscles contracting and relaxing and then progress from this position to upright positions as your pelvic floor muscles strengthen as shown below.
When doing Kegels in sitting, youll gain the most benefit by keeping a slight inward curve in your lower back throughout. Sit forward away from the chair rest, lean forward slightly and keep your chest raised.
Empty Your Bladder Regularly Even If It Doesnt Feel Full
Going to the bathroom on a schedule, say, every two to three hours, even if you dont feel the urge to urinate is a good idea for people who have urinary incontinence or overactive bladder , Griebling says. Similarly, emptying your bladder before leaving the house or other venues, such as your office or a restaurant, even if you dont feel an urge to go, can diminish leakage and prevent accidents.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Incontinence
The main symptom of incontinence is a leakage of urine. This could be a constant dripping of urine or an occasional experience of leakage. If you have incontinence, you might have large amounts or small amounts of leaked urine. You might experience leakage for a wide variety of reasons often depending on the type of incontinence you have.
You might leak urine when you:
- Have an urge to urinate, but cant make it to the toilet on time.
- Have to get up in the middle of night to urinate .
How Long Should You Continue With These Exercises
Like any group of muscles, it is in your own interest to keep them in good shape so really everyone should be exercising their pelvic floor muscles from childhood through to old age.
If you already have some symptoms that might be caused by a weakened pelvic floor, do not be disappointed if you do not notice any improvement even after a month or two of exercising it is a long process, which needs patience and some willpower. It may help to talk to a specialist continence adviser or a continence physiotherapist about the exercises to make sure you are doing them properly. They may also be able to suggest additional exercises, exercise devices or muscle stimulation which could speed up the process.
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Avoid High Impact Exercise: It Can Make Leakage Worse
If youre looking at losing weight or exercising to help your urinary incontinence, be aware that high impact exercise can actually make things worse by putting pressure on the pelvic floor muscles. Even sit-ups may prove problematic. So skip the aerobics classes and trade in your running shoes for some yoga or pilates. This will help you build core strength, stretch your body, and get a good workout without taking a toll on your pelvic floor muscles. Plus, as we saw, yoga has some asanas that are actually beneficial for the pelvic region.16
References
Types Of Urinary Incontinence
Problems with bladder control fall into two main categories. Leakage with laughing and other things that put pressure on the bladder is known as stress incontinence. Its often caused by childbirth, which can stretch or damage the pelvic floor muscles and nerves.
The other common type is known as urge incontinence, or overactive bladder. Its caused by unpredictable contractions of muscles in the bladder wall. Overactive bladder usually stems from a temporary condition such as a bladder infection, or from a chronic condition such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, stroke, or diabetes. Symptoms of an overactive bladder include needing to urinate often needing to urinate urgently leaking urine and waking from sleep to urinate. Postmenopausal women tend to develop overactive bladder, possibly because of age-related changes in the bladder lining and muscle.
There are other types of urinary incontinence. Symptoms of both stress incontinence and overactive bladder are known as mixed incontinence. Overflow incontinence occurs if something blocks urine from flowing normally out of an overfull bladder. This is more common in men, but does affect women. Some medications can cause overflow incontinence.
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