Healthy Bladder, Happy Bladder

I spend a lot of time talking about what happens when your bladder and/or pelvic floor muscles aren’t playing nicely together. Incontinence, increased urinary urgency or frequency - all of these things can disrupt your life. 

Ever been curious about what healthy bladder functioning is? Or wonder what you can do (besides pelvic PT!) to insure your bladder is in tip top shape?

Let’s talk about healthy bladder function. Typical healthy bladder function means:

• Urinating every 2-4 hours during the day (age and certain medications can affect this)

• Being able to sit on the toilet, relax, and urinate without straining or pushing

• Urinating without pain

• Being able to get to the toilet without rushing or leaking

• Being able to delay the first urge to urinate for a while (first urge means your bladder is about half full, that urge should subside as the bladder continues to fill)

  What that means is you shouldn’t have to pee every hour. Or rush to the bathroom, pulling down your pants as you go, praying you make it to the toilet. Or sit on the toilet praying to just pee and get it over with since your bladder aches every time you go. Pelvic PT is a great place to start if you’re dealing with bladder issues. But there are things you can do all on your own that help your bladder be happier and healthier.

  Healthy bladder habits include:

• Taking your time, relaxing your pelvic floor muscles, and allowing your bladder to empty

• If you sit to pee, SIT! Don’t hover over the toilet, this makes it harder for your pelvic floor muscles to relax 

• Avoid “just in case” peeing - if you don’t have to go, don’t go! Peeing right before you leave the house every time “just in case” can set you up for a bladder that expects to go all the dang time

• Not ignoring the urge forever - try not to go more than 4 hours between voiding to ensure you aren’t overloading your bladder (nurses and teachers - I’m looking at you!)

• Drinking enough water! Cutting back on fluid intake doesn’t make you leak less, it just concentrates your urine and can irritate the lining of the bladder, causing you to have to go more often or sometimes leak

I want you to be able to go to the movies (is that still a thing??) without having to get up in the middle to pee. I want you to not be the person who has to stop every hour on a road trip because you can’t hold it any longer. I want you to be able to go out shopping without having to know where every freaking bathroom on the planet is.

If this sounds like you - you don’t have to keep living this way. Even if you’re NOT leaking, your bladder shouldn’t be in control, you should! I have lots of tips and tricks to help you help your bladder function at its best (we haven’t even STARTED to talk about the effects of diet on bladder health, stay tuned for that!). Patient education is a huge part of what I do, and tailoring your care to your specific needs is essential. 

There is no one size fits all when it comes to any aspect of health. Bodies are allllll very different! That’s why a full evaluation and assessment of your body and your needs is so important. 

If you want to be in control of your bladder rather than letting it run your life, hit me up! I can help.