Urinary incontinence
It is the unmentionable problem, yet urinary incontinence effects as many as 50% of all women, particularly after pregnancy – and it can really hamper your running. Urinary incontinence is usually caused by pelvic floor weakness. The muscles on the pelvic floor form a figure of eight shape around the vagina and anus – the main muscle is called the pubococcygeous – and support the contents of the pelvis and abdomen, as well as controlling the emptying of the bladder and bowels and the contraction of the vagina. When these muscles become weakened through misuse, disease or damage, then anything from a cough or sneeze to a knee lift on the spot can cause urinary leakage. The first course of action is to do pelvic floor exercises, and lots of them. Providing they are done correctly, these exercises are 90% effective in stopping urinary incontinence. Often, when women say such exercises don’t work, it is because they have done far too few of them to make a difference, or done them incorrectly.

How to do pelvic floor exercises
Sit, stand or lie with your legs slightly apart and with your buttocks, abdominals and thighs relaxed. Now pull ‘up and in’ as if you were trying to stop yourself having a wee (don’t actually do this more than once, though, or you may cause a urinary tract infection). Breathing normally, continue to pull up and in through the vagina and the anus. The most common mistakes are to pull in the tummy or clench the buttocks. Make sure you are doing neither. Mix both fast and slower contractions for best results and do these exercises as often as you can. It is consistency that is the key to success.

As well as strengthening the pelvic floor, there are other things you can do to alleviate the problem:

• Always visit the loo last thing before you leave the house.

• Make it a habit to always go for a pee when your body tells you to. Don’t ‘hold on’ unless it’s absolutely necessary.

• Don’t be tempted to avoid drinking fluid to reduce your chances of an incontinent episode. A small number of people get symptoms of urinary tract infection when they are dehydrated – including burning, stinging and abnormal frequency of urination. If you do have a UTI, it will not cause you problems if you are well hydrated – but as soon as you become a little dehydrated, the UTI will flare up. The above symptoms may also occur due to the concentration of your urine, so it is essential in all cases to maintain normal hydration by drinking fluids.

• Keep caffeine (in coffee, tea and caffeinated fizzy drinks) and alcohol to a minimum if you have a problem – all of these are diuretics and can cause dehydration.
  
  
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