Bad Bladder Habits
Bladder dysfunction is common! Especially after having a baby. Symptoms such as uncontrollable urgency, frequent urination, leaking pee and pelvic pain are common complaints I see in pelvic floor PT. Getting to the root cause of these bladder issues is the key to successful recovery, and one of this biggest components of rehab is breaking bad bladder habits.
First off, what is normal?
The average person urinates every 3-4 hours and zero times at night. If you count the seconds it takes you to pee, an average void should be 8-12 seconds. This can vary dependent on fluid intake (recommendation is half your body weight in oz of water per day). You should not have to push pee out and you should have a steady stream of urine. No amount of leaking pee, is normal!
Read on to learn some bad bladder habits. Do any of these sound like you?
#1: "just in case" peeing
Your bladder is a highly trainable muscle. By frequently emptying your bladder before it's actually full teaches your bladder that it can't hold large amounts of urine. This can lead to increased bladder urgency even when your bladder isn't full.
#2: hovering over the toilet
When you hover over the toilet to pee, you cannot fully relax your pelvic floor muscles. This can lead to increased pelvic floor muscle tension, which can exacerbate bladder issues/pain. I know, public toilets are gross, use a toilet paper barrier! Along with relaxing your butt and hips, it's also important to make sure your feet are flat on the ground. Using a stool or squatty potty can be helpful.
#3: power peeing/rushing
Mamas, this ones for you. When we finally get 30 seconds to pee, you have to make it quick. But rushing on the toilet or not giving yourself time to fully empty your bladder can cause pelvic floor and bladder dysfunction!
#4: chronic pee holding
You may have heard of "nurses bladder" or "teachers bladder". These are the two jobs I often see this bad habit. When your day doesn't allow you time to empty your bladder and you're forced to hold it, your pelvic floor muscles can get chronically tight. Having a bladder schedule built in to your day to remind you to use the bathroom can be helpful.
#5: consuming bladder irritants
Caffeine, carbonated drinks, artificial sweeteners, and highly acidic foods can irritate your bladder. Now i'm not forcing anyone to give up their precious cup of coffee in the morning, but if you are dealing with bladder dysfunction, you might want to reduce your consumption of these things. Keeping a bladder diary can help you identify irritants and patterns.
#6: dehydration
If you are dealing with urinary urgency, frequency or incontinence, it is tempting to reduce your fluid intake so that your bladder isn't as full. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this actually does the reverse of what you are trying to achieve. Dehydration actually irritates your bladder more! You may need to change the pace that your drink water throughout the day or front-load your intake so your not drinking a ton right before bed, however you should still shoot to consume 70-80 oz of water per day!
#7: clenching your abs, butt and pelvic floor
Our society sadly has taught us to hold in our bellies at all times. We also tend to hold a lot of our stress in our pelvic floor. Chronically clenching is a recipe for pelvic floor muscle tension and bladder dysfunction. Adding in some mindfulness, yoga, deep breathing and stress management strategies to release your tension in these areas can be super helpful in managing bladder dysfunction.