Urine leakage

 You know how it feels when a large sneeze takes you off guard and you find yourself peeing a little? When you lose command of your bladder and the capability to hold urine in, you experience incontinence, or leakage.

"It can be caused by a variety of conditions, such as pelvic organ prolapse or an actual issue with the neurological function of the bladder," says Amelia Ponchur, DPT, a lead physical therapist with a speciality in pelvic health and restoration at Genesis PT & Wellness in Dallas, Texas. Urge urine incontinence, where you're racing to the bathroom but can't reach it in time, can also cause leaking.

It's most likely stress urinary incontinence, which occurs when you sneeze or make other motions like coughing, laughing, jumping, sprinting, or twisting, putting pressure on your bladder and causing a little amount of urine to leak out. "Your neurological system and specific muscles are not cooperating well enough to take on the power or pressure exerted," she adds, "and as a result, pee is able to exit the urethra."

This happens all too often during exercise, with HIIT, running, and lifting being three of the worst offenders. You'll be much more vulnerable if you're doing high-impact jumping or plyometric exercises, such as with high knees, mountain climbers, or squat and tuck jumps.

Exercises that will induce you to pee the most

Jumps from a squat

Due to the biomechanics necessary, jump squats can increase the chance of leaking. "An increase in the force of gravity downwards on the pelvic floor generates more work on the pelvic floor, both in force absorption and muscle group coordination, and this might induce leakage," adds Dr. Ponchur.

Try this to reduce your chances of leaking during squat jumps:

• As you descend into the squat, inhale and keep your ribs somewhat stacked over your pelvis.
• Exhale as you rise into the jump and continue to do so until you touch down.
• Instead of stopping suddenly and hitting the floor, "absorb" down into the next squat.

When doing squat jumps, don't utilise kegels. According to Dr. Ponchur, "it is not required for effective pelvic floor motion in this activity."

Sprinting

Sprinting can cause you to pee throughout your run due to the rapid acceleration, the amount of muscle activation needed, and the oxygen requirement. "This is where greater oxygen demand/cardio effort induces a shift in breathing mechanics (such as more mouth breathing and less O2 entering into the lungs) and often less proper diaphragmatic breathing," adds Dr. Ponchur.

Increased hip flexion, which is required for perfect running form, raises the risk of injury due to the change in pelvis position, as does swiftly pushing off the ground, which puts additional strain on the pelvic floor muscles.

Due to the force of our feet on the ground, sprinting, other running, and walking all have an influence on the pelvic floor and hips to some extent. "They're all connected; if your feet/ankles can't perform anything, your pelvic floor and/or hip muscles will have to compensate," Dr. Ponchur adds. Your pelvic floor may be put under extra strain as a result of this compensating.

Barbell Back Squat

The weight of the barbell on atop of the shoulders can cause rib flare (as if shoving your chest forward), which can contribute to increased intra-abdominal pressure and poor pelvic floor pressure control, as well as leaks.

As one's weight rises, so does the risk. To minimise leakage, keep your breathwork and shape as consistent as possible. Breath on the way down and exhale on the way up with each squat. "You want your feet to be about hip-width apart and parallel, and it's fine if your knees drift over your toes," Dr. Ponchur explains.

Because it involves greater strain from the core and pelvic floor and raises intra-abdominal pressure, any significant compound weight-lifting exercise like this can raise your risk of leaking.

So, how can you keep from peeing while exercising?

If you're having trouble with leaking, try training with lesser weights until you can better regulate your core. Dr. Ponchur explains that losing weight lowers the quantity of effort and work needed by your general core and pelvic floor, rendering it easier.

During training, diaphragmatic breathing can also make a big effect. "Diaphragmatic breathing supports adequate pelvic floor range of motion, which we require for good core function," she explains.

This is how you do it:

• Inhale deeply through your nose for two to four seconds while your rib cage rotates laterally.
• Exhale for a count of at least twice m u as long as the inhale, or around four to eight seconds, via your mouth (as if blowing through a straw).

Emphasizing core work—including your pelvic floor, which forms the bottom of the core—can also aid in the development of the strength required for appropriate function. "The goal of the core is to pressurise (aka stabilise) your trunk so that your limbs can move off of a stable base," says Dr. Ponchur. "Anything that disrupts or misaligns the pressurisation can lead to leakage," says the expert.

What about kegel exercises? A kegel is a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, which essentially involves keeping tension in a muscle. While Dr. Ponchur believes kegels are beneficial, she believes they are often overemphasised and misunderstood as the only treatment for pelvic floor problems.