I hear lots of Moms say that they don’t jump on the trampoline anymore since having children, due to peeing on themselves. As women we giggle, and almost use the “peeing on ourselves” issue as a way to bond. While this may be a “common” occurrence, it is not “normal.” Urinary leakage with jumping, coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise is called stress incontinence and is a sign of pelvic floor weakness. The pelvic floor muscles contain muscle fibers called fast-twitch and slow-twitch, meaning they are built for the sprint and the marathon. When there is a sudden increase in abdominal pressure, (sneeze/cough/jump) the pelvic floor muscles must perform strong and quick to keep the urethral sphincter closed so we do not leak urine. If you do, that tells us that we need to work on that kind of performance of our pelvic floor. So how do we stop that from happening?? Train the weakness and work on quick and strong contractions!
Try an exercise called, “The Knack.” Right before you cough, sneeze, or jump, perform a kegel or pelvic floor contraction (“squeeze and lift” is the cue that I like). Practice fake ones: squeeze and lift – cough; squeeze and lift – sneeze; squeeze and lift – jump. Try it out and see how it goes! Still having problems? Let’s chat! You can schedule and online consultation and we can get you jumping leak-free on the trampoline with your kiddos!!
Take care and jump well!
~Dr. Steph
Pictured is my 53 year old mother jumping with my toddler, leak-free!
