Bladder Health 101: What No One Ever Taught You About Peeing
Welcome back to the Take Flight Wellness Blog! Today, we're unpacking some little-known truths about a daily habit—peeing. Whether it's urgency, frequency, or incontinence, understanding bladder health can significantly improve your life. If you'd prefer to listen rather than read, you can catch this episode here.
The Truth About Peeing:
Contrary to popular practice, the key to healthy peeing isn't about forcing things along. In fact, 'power peeing'—pushing urine out with force—can lead to pelvic floor tension and worsen bladder issues.
Long-term we do not want to do this every time we pee because we are tightening the pelvic floor muscles to do so, at a time when we actually need to relax them. This can lead to a cycle of creating pelvic floor tension. If you find yourself in the habit of doing this, try to take a deep belly breath instead while on the toilet. If that doesn’t help, you can try what we call double voiding, which means standing up again and sitting back down. Since we have such a strong motor pattern of relaxing our pelvic floor muscles to pee when we sit down on the toilet, this can sometimes help us completely empty. Mastering the art of relaxing the right muscles at the right time is crucial for bladder health.
Why You Shouldn’t Hover or Stop Midstream:
Hovering over the toilet and stopping the urine stream are common but harmful practices. They can interfere with the natural emptying process and contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction.
A Call for Proper Pelvic Care:
If you are finding that you are struggling with completely emptying, this could be a sign of pelvic floor tension and pelvic floor therapy can help with this. Other symptoms that I regularly treat in my clinic include increased urgency, such as not making it to the bathroom in time, increased frequency, really feeling you are going many times per day that is above normal for you, as well as leaking and feelings of burning without the presence of infection. Pelvic floor therapy offers effective solutions, helping to relieve symptoms and restore confidence.
To get the full scoop on maintaining healthy bladder habits and why it matters, be sure to check out our entire podcast episode. Dive deeper into practical tips and expert advice that can transform your daily wellness routine. If you found this helpful don't forget to share it with family and friends who could also benefit from these insights. Let’s spread the knowledge and help everyone take flight towards better health!
