Take Control: Five Ways to Improve Your Bladder Control*

Take Control: Five Ways to Improve Your Bladder Control

We’ve all heard it before – one small change can make all the difference. It may be your philosophy for improving your golf swing, but it also holds true for urinary incontinence. A few key changes in your everyday routine can really improve your bladder control.

The Change Why It Works
Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles These muscles are largely responsible for bladder control – they hold in urine when you laugh, cough, sneeze or move around. Exercising them rebuilds strength to help prevent leakage.1 Visit the TENA.us Exercise area to learn how to do pelvic floor exercises.
Stay Hydrated It seems counterintuitive, but drinking at least 6-8 glasses of water a day can help. If you don’t drink enough, your urine concentration will be thicker and irritate your bladder, causing you to urinate more frequently.2
Avoid Bladder Irritants Giving up your morning cup of joe and your after-work beer may help your bladder control. Both caffeine and alcohol have diuretic properties, which irritate the bladder and make the symptoms of urinary incontinence worse. Spicy or acidic foods can do the same.
Quit Smoking You’ve most likely heard by now that smoking cigarettes doesn’t have a positive effect on your body, but did you know that tobacco aggravates your urinary tract, worsening the symptoms of incontinence? Now is the time to kick the habit for good. If you need help quitting, check out http://www.smokefree.gov/.

Shed a Few Pounds

 Being overweight puts pressure on your bladder, increasing your chance of experiencing bladder control issues.

Losing a few extra pounds can make a big difference by lightening the pressure you’re exerting on your bladder.

Footnotes:

  1. Albaugh, J. (2007). Life After Prostate Treatment: Focus on Incontinence. Us TOO HotSheet: Prostate Cancer and Incontinence: Coping Strategies and Treatment Options.
  2. TENA.us- “Advice Relating to Specific Types of Bladder Weakness”

LockerTalk.com does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. More Information.