Do you get bladder leaks when you sneeze?
Get prepared for cold season with one simple skill.
Heads up – it’s coughs, colds (and possibly Covid) season. If you get bladder leaks when you sneeze you are not alone. But you don’t have to endure them! Before you need the lempsip and tissues (or continence pads) let’s Be Prepared. Oh yes, I’m back being the pelvic floor police. But today targeted specifically for stress-free sneezing!
I love a good Mr P quote – but sometimes they are really annoying!
“Be in control of your body and not at its mercy”
Joseph H. Pilates
When I have a cold I can do
- the Spectacular Single Sneeze
- the Long-Blow-of-Snottiness ……and even
- the Frustrating-Blow-of-Blocked-Sinuses
but…. the 3-Sneezes-In-a-Row…..DAMN. Number 3 gets me every time!! Fully at my bladder’s mercy… unless I prepare by practising one special skill:
What skill improves 80% of bladder leaks ??
The Knack
is the magical art of drawing up your pelvic floor muscles just before you cough, sneeze, laugh or pick up something heavy. Research has confirmed it works to stop urine leakage *
* Clarification and confirmation of the Knack maneuver: the effect of volitional pelvic floor muscle contraction to preempt expected stress incontinence. Miller, J.M., Sampselle, C., Ashton-Miller, J. et al. Int Urogynecol J (2008) 19: 773. doi:10.1007/s00192-007-0525-3).
Need to work on your Knack too?
- Practice The Knack with a ‘pretend’ cough after you have had a wee. Your bladder is empty so you are unlikely to come unstuck.
- First, challenge the system, gently. Hold your pelvic floor muscles firmly – cough lightly. Repeat 4-5 times until you feel you are getting the hang of it.
- After a few days of practise, when that is feeling safe and secure, challenge the skill by coughing a bit harder. Then increase your confidence by allowing an hour to pass so that your bladder is fuller when you cough (but start with the lighter coughs again and build up to the firmer ones).
Bonus: put your hand to your mouth even with the pretend coughs. Your mum taught you that as a habit when a child – so it is ingrained. Your brain will “attach” pulling up your pelvic floor to the reflex of covering your mouth. Soon you won’t have to “remember”.
With practice you will train a “learned-reflex”, a habit. Your brain gets so used to the sequence of prepare, protect, cough that you do it on auto-pilot. And can keep it for all THREE sneezes too!
Make time to TARGET the pelvic floor
We DO work our pelvic floor muscles in all our Pilates exercises. The pelvic floor is part of the “core” group of muscles. However, if you get bladder leaks when you sneeze it is a sign that the pelvic floor also needs some targeted love and attention too:
And clear a chesty cough asap!
Do you have a child (or grown adult!) who is just cough cough coughing but struggling to actually shift the stuff on their chest? It wears them out, gives them a sore throat and makes them miserable. In this video I show you the tricks I learned at physio school which are now very useful as a mother! And adults too!
Need more Pelvic Floor skills?
Head over to our Pelvic Floor School Video Library for further quick ways to improve your skills today!
