Ailment: Incontinence - urinary

Remedy: Kegel exercises

Kegel exercises for urinary incontinence.

Remedy (new) posted by Maxine of Burlington, Vermont, USA on 20 July 2010 at 20:30       338

YES
I started having problems with needing to pee urgently and incontinence at the age of 30, and that was over twenty years ago. I got used to planning my life around never being too far from the bathroom. This constant need to pee caused me to have frequent UTIs (urinary tract infections), because my bladder never went from full to empty to get flushed out properly.
A physical therapist was helpful, she taught me that there are certain triggers that led to these special moments. For example, when I have been sitting for a while and get up to do something, I feel the need to go. When driving or walking home, as I get close to home I feel more and more urgent. As I put my keys in the door I would be bursting.
I started recognizing these triggers and using Kegel exercises. These exercises contract and relax muscles that form the pelvic floor. As I got closer to home, I would start the exercises. The main one is to contract your muscles like you are trying to stop peeing. I would hold the contraction for 5 or more seconds then release. To start with, I would do it about five times. If I still had the urge to pee (which I did), then I did the exercises again. After I was in bathroom (another trigger), I did it again. While sitting on the toilet, I did it again. Another of the exercises is to lift the pelvic floor, hold for 5 seconds, and then relax.
The object is to continue doing the exercises until you have full control. When I first started the exercises, I did them every time I got an urge to pee. Within days there was a major improvement. After a month it was hardly an issue any more. You have to be quite disciplined though, and keep doing the exercises. If I have a relapse, I just do the exercises again and the problem is gone in days.