Do you pee when you laugh?

Ever seen someone throwing their head back with laughter and then suddenly their expression takes an unexpected turn? It’s like they suddenly remembered they left a chicken cooking in the oven at home! Well, they could have just let out a bit of pee – we’ve all been there. There’s a reason why people use ‘peeing yourself’ as a barometer for the funniest thing ever, cos it happens!

Stress Urinary Incontinence is when pressure is applied to your pelvic floor and bladder. It’s a problem that predominantly affects women and can happen when you laugh, cough, sneeze or do any physical activity…so pretty much everything. A weak or damaged pelvic floor is usually the cause, which is where the muscle and tissue weaken and means that your urethra isn’t properly supported…hence, pee.

Lots of things can take their toll on your pelvis. From plain old age, chronic coughing, obesity to having a baby. Your pelvic floor is especially under massive pressure when you’re carrying a baby, so it’s really no surprise that sometimes you can fall short. It can recover after a baby, but if you have multiple children then recovery gets harder.

And it doesn’t end there. When women go through menopause and estrogen levels decrease, muscles weaken again.

All in all, incontinence is an issue that causes lots of anxiety for women and in more serious cases, depression.

So, what can you do to limit the effects of SUI?

• Emsella – this amazing machine uses electromagnetic tech to cause muscle contractions in your pelvic floor. You couldn’t achieve this effect on your own, because it creates thousands of contractions per session and we recommend 6 sessions. The best thing is that it’s pain-free, you can keep your clothes on, carry on your day as normal and start seeing results in 3 weeks.
• Pelvic Floor Exercises – Kegel exercises are the best type of exercises that you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor. It’s a good idea to see a physiotherapist before you attempt this as it can be tricky. The thing is, you’re going to have to be very disciplined and persistent with this if you’re doing to by yourself because you won’t be able to replicate thousands of Kegel contractions from using Emsella.
• Lifestyle change – as we mentioned, incontinence can be worsened by being obese or overweight and also from persistent coughing which could be caused by smoking or pollution. If you can make some savvy lifestyle changes, you could make a difference.

Call Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness today at (408) 761-6781 to schedule your complimentary consultation.