I am often asked this question.  We conduct regular workshops for women who have the symptoms of and who suffer from Urinary Incontinence.  Understanding the answer to this really important question “Why does my Bladder Leak?” and what each woman can do to stop that leaking, is one of the key outcomes from the workshop sessions. 

We start by understanding how the bladder works.  The main reason most women experience bladder leakage is physiological so they need to understand how their bladder works.

At the base of the bladder is a valve called the bladder sphincter.  The bladder sphincter is a ringlike muscle that normally maintains constriction of the bladder and relaxes to allow normal physiological functioning i.e. emptying.  The bladder sphincter is aided by the Pelvic Floor muscles.

The Pelvic Floor muscles are a group of muscles that create stability in the pelvis and they act as the foundation of the core of the body.  They inter connect and connect all the bones of the pelvis.  The Pelvic Floor muscles are some what thing like a multilayered supporting hammock.  When the Pelvic Floor muscles are healthy and have strong muscle tone they support both the bladder and anal sphincters.

If the Pelvic Floor muscles are damaged or weakened they are not able to support the bladder sphincter as effectively as they would if they were strong and healthy. 

Put simply, if the bladder sphincter is not held closed then urine leaks out.  This is referred to as Urinary Incontinence or UI. 

The next really important piece to understand is “What causes the Pelvic Floor muscles to weaken?” or “What damages the Pelvic Floor muscles?” and “What can we do about it?”

There are a number of causes of weakened or damaged Pelvic Floor muscles eg from pregnancy or childbirth, from incorrect lifting or repeatedly carrying heavy weights; a topic for future blogs.  And we teach what to do about it at our workshops. 

We are currently designing on-line workshops so for women who are not able to attend our face-to-face sessions.

Stay tuned for the on-line version coming soon.