Urinary Complaints

TRANSCRIPT

Urine leakage or incontinence can start or worsen for some women at menopause. Often women will complain that a drop of urine used to leak out when I coughed or sneezed hard after I delivered my baby but since menopause, it leaks even when I am standing up or lifting light groceries. This is called stress urinary incontinence or SUI. You see, whenever there is an increase in our abdominal pressure, like when we sneeze, cough, or laugh, our pelvic muscles contract and prevent leakage of urine. And these muscles and the tissue surrounding them can get injured during childbirth giving rise to SUI after delivery which is mild for most women. But as you near menopause, the drop in estrogen levels results in the weakening of your pelvic muscles and they may no longer be able to control your bladder as they did before and women feel OMG what's going on? The most obvious treatment option for such cases is to take care of the cause - and here we have 2 main causes - low estrogen levels which can be added locally in the form of low-dose vaginal estrogen as we have discussed earlier or systemic hormone replacement therapy or HRT - but equally important are pelvic floor exercises and rehabilitation. One of the common exercises suggested is called Kegel's which women should be taught while they are pregnant but most often either it gets missed by the doctor or missed by the mother who is so excited and exhausted about her new baby that she forgets about the exercise. My question to you is, have you heard about Kegel's exercise, and if yes, have you been doing it regularly?

While we remember to exercise all our visible muscles, we often forget to exercise our pelvic muscles. A popular and easy pelvic floor exercise is called Kegel's which is quite effective once you identify the right muscles to contract. A good way to start is to try to stop the stream of urine while you’re urinating; if you can do it, you’ve identified the basic move. But don’t start and stop your urination on a regular basis, as that might be harmful. Once you have the hang of what it takes to stop urine while you are urinating, you should try to perform this action with an empty bladder. Hold the contraction for 2 to 3 seconds and then release. and then try to do three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions every day. And the beauty of these exercises is that they can be done while performing routine tasks such as cooking, watching TV, or sitting at your desk. And in my opinion, it is useful for all women - just because you don't have incontinence today does not mean that you won't develop it in years to come. And for those of you who have daughters or daughters-in-law or young relatives and friends who are pregnant or delivered a baby recently, nudge them to start young. Strong pelvic muscles can save you from a lot of trouble!

#menopausewize #menopause #perimenopause #urinaryincontinence #sui #urineleakage