Incontinence when Running or Jumping

Incontinence when Running

If you always have to make sure you go to the bathroom before you go out for a run or beginning your workout, you are not alone. Although Incontinence when running is a very common occurrence in women after having children. It is not considered normal, and you don’t just have to suffer with it. This is called stress incontinence and happens when you put some sort of stress on the pelvic floor. You can read more about the types of Incontinence here. This is a sign that your pelvic floor muscles are not doing their job and there are things you can do to help them start firing correctly.

Are you Ready to Even Run?

4 things you need to be able to do prior to going out for your run

• Feet need to be strong enough and you should be able to balance on one foot for 30 seconds (both feet)
• Can you keep your hips level or do you sink into your hip
• Be able to squat without your knees falling in
• Control the pressure in your core, if you have a bread loaf in your belly you should not run

What can I do for Incontinence

The first thing you will want to look at is your breathing. Your diaphragm and pelvic floor work together. Often, when you are dealing with leaking urine, there is something happening with your breathing pattern as well. You will want to begin practicing some basic breathing patterns. I recommend exercises like 360 breathing and back breathing to ensure that the diaphragm is expanding and contracting fully. Read our article on Breathing to begin working more on these.

The next thing I would recommend you do is pay attention to your posture. Check to see how your rib cage and pelvis are aligned. Often times, if you are flaring at your ribs and you are arching your low back, you will lose the core connection which can increase the likeliness to leak urine when jogging or jumping. You will also want to make sure you keep that connection to the core by thinking about dropping your chin slightly towards the chest, and not reaching with your chin when you run. Many times these small movements will change the alignment of the rest of your body and help to keep the core connection, the diaphragm and ribs moving effectively, and provide the pelvic floor muscles to respond appropriately.

Quick tips for Incontinence when Running

1. Drop your chin slightly towards the chest to help keep that deep core connection
2. Take deep breaths in and quick short breaths out while you are jogging to help activate the deep core muscles.
3. Try hitting mid-foot when you jog so that you are landing soft on the balls of your feet which helps to use the muscles to absorb the force of impact rather than the joints.

If you are struggling with Incontinence, know that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can try our mini course, Are you Leaking? Grab our Free Guide to begin working on strengthening your pelvic floor or join our Movement Membership (button below) to access all of our programs and movement classes.