Urinary incontinence: a compelling reason to take care of your pelvic floor

The involuntary and untimely loss of urine is the symptom that sets off our alarms and makes us think about the dreaded Urinary Incontinence. And later, it forces us to pay more attention to the care of our pelvic floor and its muscles.

Women today receive a true informational and cultural bombardment about the importance of staying young and healthy. Much is said about why it is necessary to prefer a healthy diet and choose exercise as part of the ten commandments to age as God intended: beautiful and healthy.

In this path of therapies, specialists, gurus and experts that we have to listen to throughout our lives, little is said about the constant need to strengthen the muscles of our pelvic floor, as a way to protect several important functions that enhance our femininity. over time and that makes it easier for us to prevent diseases such as urinary incontinence, which negatively modify our lifestyle, harm our health, our emotional stability and our life as a couple.

Urinary incontinence does not attack only elderly women . It is a stigmatized condition, which is suffered in silence out of shame, or which is often treated as something normal that has no solution and is not even brought up in conversation in the doctor's office or in the woman's intimate circle.

The reality is that it is a topic of common interest for ladies of any age, which can be effectively prevented or resolved with mechanisms at hand.

At Zenzsual™ we aim to approach women's health care from a comprehensive vision, focusing on helping them improve their physical and emotional well-being, emphasizing the care of their intimacy and sensuality as a fundamental part of their health and well-being. That motivated us to write more about urinary incontinence and its link to strengthening the pelvic floor, with the aim of breaking down the myths around this condition and helping to better understand it, and that we all begin to understand that urine loss with minimal effort is not normal, with which we have to live.

Let's start by knowing our body

The floor or floor of the pelvis is formed by layers of muscles and soft and elastic tissues, which extend like a hammock, from the coccyx to the pubic bone. Through them, 3 hoses or tubes pass, that is, it has 3 holes, the urine tube (also called urethra), the vagina and the anus. Its main function is to serve as a floor, as its name suggests, to support and support the pelvic organs: bladder, intestines, uterus, ovaries, and also, they play a very important role in sexuality, especially during orgasm. . Hence the importance of keeping it strengthened.

The pelvic floor muscles run like a muscular trampoline from the tailbone to the pubic bone, front to back, and from side to side. These muscles are normally firm and thick in a woman who trains them and thin, loose or flaccid in women who do not exercise them. They are like a round mini trampoline made of firm muscle.

Although the pelvic floor is hidden from view, it can be consciously controlled and therefore trained, just like our arms, legs or abdominal muscles.

What is the pelvic floor in charge of?

The muscles of the pelvic floor provide support to the organs located in it:

1. They support sphincter control : They give us conscious control over the bladder and bowel so that we can control the release of urine, feces, and flatulence. By relaxing the pelvic floor you make way for urine and feces.
2. Support sexual function: In women, voluntary pelvic floor contractions contribute to sexual sensation and arousal.
3. They help during pregnancy : providing support to the baby and collaborating during the birth process.
4. They support our organs : They work with the abdominal and back muscles to stabilize and support the spine and give support to all the organs in the pelvis and lower abdomen.

Why do those muscles deteriorate?

Like any muscle in the body, the pelvic floor requires attention and exercise. And its weakening can originate for multiple reasons, among which are:

• Due to abandonment, sedentary lifestyle or misuse
• Due to pregnancy or childbirth
• for constipation
• due to being overweight
• For lifting very heavy objects
• For not treating a prolonged chronic cough
• For doing some high-impact exercises wrong
• just getting old

Leaking streams of urine

According to the Office on Women's Health (OWH), urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control . The two most common types of urinary incontinence that affect women are stress incontinence and urge incontinence, which is also known as overactive bladder. This condition varies in severity, from "just a little leak" to constant and very frequent loss of urine during the slightest movement or exertion, which can be treated and cured in many cases.

Incontinence affects twice as many women as men , although it cannot be said that it is a natural part of aging and can be treated. It is frequently associated with pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and a variety of chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, or arthritis. 

It is a much more common condition than you may believe . In the United States, Urinary Incontinence is a prevalent health problem that disproportionately affects older women and is associated with poor quality of life associated with significant psychological, physical, social, and financial burdens.

The risk factors that cause the weakening of the pelvic floor muscles coincide with those that cause urinary incontinence in women. According to the Urology Care Foundation, the main ones are: aging, pregnancy, childbirth (cesarean section or vaginal delivery) and the number of children. For example, if you had urinary incontinence during pregnancy, you are more likely to have it later. Reaching menopause also predisposes you to suffer from urinary incontinence due to decreased estrogen. It is important to note that some medications are related to or worsen urinary incontinence; as well as some diseases also increases the risk, such as: diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, smoking and obesity.

In many cases, incontinence can be prevented by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle. However, it is important to see a doctor preventively or as soon as you suspect its presence.

Treatment depends on the type of incontinence, depending on your case. The first thing is to attend the medical consultation, since it will be the health professional and a comprehensive team, who will indicate the ideal solutions for you.

To start preventing or treating urinary incontinence, it is important to implement changes in your lifestyle that allow you to strengthen your pelvic floor, such as: learning to breathe correctly, choosing a sport that does not damage your pelvic floor, and watching your posture. when going to the bathroom.

There are different approaches to attack incontinence and the doctor will guide you in selecting the best option for your case. Treatment often begins with the recommendation to follow a physical therapy routine through bladder training and the practice of Kegels exercises , which easily help you exercise and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

At Zenzsual™, we help you to perform them correctly with the VagiYoga™ pelvic floor smart trainer guide, which takes you in a simple way from: how to discover your pelvic floor, how to contract, gives you a strength diagnosis, and finally, you It takes you through four levels of challenges, so that in a fun way, you can tone and rehabilitate that area. The positive reinforcement that you get from seeing how you are doing it makes a big difference in terms of the results and effectiveness of the exercises. It is a quick way to verify if you are really contracting the correct muscles, with the necessary force and keeping track of your progress, in the comfort of your home.

In addition to physical therapy, the medical recommendation can include anything from prescribing medications, the use of special devices such as pessaries, injectable implants, to resorting to the inflatable artificial sphincter, in case of neurological diseases. There is also electrostimulation, very similar to passive gymnastics. And ultimately resort to some kind of surgical procedures or surgery . 

Regardless of the medical treatment you try, urinary incontinence is associated with mood swings in women . That is why it is important to decide to seek professional help with medical personnel in a timely manner.

Our goal at Zenzsual™ is to help you decide to seek medical help. In addition to that, we have a team of doctors and professionals available to chat with you through their online consultations. And we offer you a variety of products such as: the VagiYoga™ vaginal exerciser, our brand's intimate gel and the supplement to improve your libido Libizenzs; among other products and services designed to accompany you to proactively improve your quality of life and intimate well-being, and identify any irregularity or doubt about your female health in time.

If you want to continue learning about urinary incontinence, you have doubts, you want to know more about its causes and possible ways of care or you know a woman who may be living with incontinence and does not know it; We invite you to stay tuned to our blog, where we will continue to share more useful information for your health.

Sources:

• Continence Foundation of Australia
• International Continence Society
• Urology Care Foundation
• Medlineplus - US National Library of Medicine 
• livewithoutanxiety.org
• Office for Women's Health 
• International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) 
• Contributions by Dr. Karla Senior ( @klarasenior ) and Dr. Sofía Herrera ( @tu_ginecologa ), Founders of Zenzsual™.