Incontinence When Running: Why It Happens and What You Can Do About It

Have you ever gone on a run and had an unintentional urine leak? You are not alone. While urine leaks when running are common, they should not be considered “normal”.

In fact, according to a study on elite track and field athletes, as many as 51.7% of female participants leak urine when running. However, the sad part is that many of us don't tell anyone about this condition—sometimes, not even our GPs.

However, there are plenty of lifestyle strategies and treatment options that could help alleviate your symptoms, so you don't need to let urine leakage hold you back from living an active lifestyle.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at stress urinary incontinence by discussing why it happens and what you can do about it.

Why It Happens: Incontinence When Running

Leaking pee while running is typically caused by stress urinary incontinence, which is generally the result of weak pelvic floor muscles. When you run, you put additional pressure on your bladder. In turn, weak muscles let urine escape.

If you leak urine when running, you will more than likely also experience incontinence when coughing, sneezing, laughing, bending over, and doing other forms of exercise. At first, it's usually only a small amount of pee, but it can gradually worsen over time, especially if left untreated.

Potential Causes for Urinary Incontinence When Running

Some of the most common causes of stress incontinence include the following:

• Pregnancy and childbirth: These life events can cause trauma to your abdominal muscles, thus weakening your pelvic floor.

• Ageing: As you age, it's natural to experience muscle weakness in your bladder.

• Pelvic surgery: Any type of surgery in the pelvic region can cause damage to the muscles that support your urinary system.

• Menopause: The hormone changes associated with menopause can weaken your pelvic floor muscles and thin your bladder lining.

• Neurological conditions: Conditions like multiple sclerosis can confuse the messages between the brain and the bladder, which can result in leaks.

What You Can Do About It

From strengthening your bladder muscles through Kegel exercises to surgical options, there are plenty of effective treatment options available, including:

Pelvic floor exercises

Since stress incontinence is typically caused by pelvic floor weakness, strengthening your pelvic muscles could help alleviate your symptoms. These floor exercises generally involve contracting and relaxing your pelvic muscles at timed intervals while holding certain positions.

Pelvic floor exercises can be done with a physical therapist, who can help guide you through the movements, or on your own in the comfort of your own home. There are also plenty of online resources that provide valuable guidance on how to perform these exercises properly.

Over time, you should be able to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and see a significant improvement in your incontinence symptoms.

Injections and surgery

Injections and surgery are usually seen as a last resort, with some of the options within this category including:

• Urethral bulking agent injections: These injections temporarily thicken the urethral walls, which can help reduce leaks.

• Bovine collagen injections: A natural protein is injected to bulk up the tissue surrounding the urethra.

• Urethral sling surgery: This popular procedure involves supporting the bladder in a sling made from animal tissue, surgical mesh, or donor tissue.

• Colposuspension: By tightening the neck of the bladder, this surgery can help prevent urine leaks.

Always talk to your general practitioner or a urologist about the possible side effects, complications and expected recovery time when it comes to bulking injections and surgery.

Lifestyle Strategies to Manage Urinary Incontinence When Running

While lifestyle management strategies may not 'fix' your problem, they can still help you lead a normal and happy life. Here are a few tips:

Bladder support supplements

If you have also noticed you are experiencing an overactive bladder (increased frequency of toilet trips, a strong urge to urinate which you cannot control) then you may be looking for support from your diet. Here at Jude, our bladder support supplements are filled with healthy, natural ingredients like phytoestrogen from soy-germ extract and are designed to provide support for your bladder after menopause to help you regain control of your bladder in just 12 short weeks. Enjoy a healthier bladder with fewer leaks and a noticeable relief in your need-to-go urgency.

Wear incontinence pads

Wearing incontinence pads and/or leak-proof underwear can give you the confidence to go on your run without worrying about having pee leak down your leg.

Jude's leak-proof underwear is designed to hold up to 8 teaspoons of urine, ensuring you stay dry and odour-free. Additionally, our incontinence pads are made from bamboo, making them soft, absorbent, and better for the planet.

Make sure you pee before you go for a run

Before you begin your run, make sure you use the bathroom and empty your bladder fully. If you plan to go on a particularly long run, plan your route so that it includes one or two public restrooms along the way to minimise your chances of leaks and make your run far more enjoyable.

Also, listen to your body. If you feel the urge to pee, you should try to find a bathroom so that this urge doesn't end up turning into a leak.

Don't clench

Naturally, those who experience stress incontinence tend to clench their abdominal muscles when running in an effort to hold in their pee. However, clenching can often have the opposite effect, putting strain on your pelvic floor muscles and causing them to release urine unintentionally.

What you should rather do is try to stay relaxed while running and practice proper breathing techniques.

Avoid bladder irritants

Certain foods and drinks can irritate your bladder, resulting in a more frequent need to pee and sometimes a loss of bladder control. Some of the items you should try to avoid include caffeinated drinks, citrus fruits, energy drinks, and spicy food.

Instead, opt for a balanced diet filled with wholesome foods to help you enjoy better overall bladder health.

Maintaining a healthy weight

If you are overweight or obese, this additional weight is likely putting extra pressure on your bladder, especially while running.

By maintaining a healthy weight, you can greatly reduce the strain on your bladder and, therefore, experience fewer leaks.

FAQs

Why is stress incontinence more common in women?

Stress urinary incontinence is more common in women because our pelvic floor muscles can weaken during menopause. Additionally, pregnancy and childbirth cause trauma to the abdominal muscles, which can increase our chances of incontinence.

What are the other types of urinary incontinence?

In addition to stress incontinence, the other types of urinary incontinence include:

• Urge incontinence

• Overflow incontinence

• Mixed incontinence

• Functional incontinence

What are some of the risk factors associated with stress incontinence?

Some of the risk factors associated with stress incontinence include:

• Weak pelvic floor

• Smoking

• Obesity

• Chronic coughing

• Constipation

• Heavy lifting and other high-impact activities

Will minimising my fluid intake help prevent urine leaks?

While drinking less fluids could prevent urine leaks, it's important to stay hydrated when running and adequate hydration is essential for our health.

On average, you should be drinking between 6 and 8 glasses a day. However, this amount will depend on your body weight as well as where you live.

Final Thoughts

If you experience urine leakage when running, know that you are not alone—thousands of women around the world are in the exact same boat. Unfortunately, due to social stigmas, most of these women won't seek help, even though it could drastically improve their quality of life.

Here at Jude, we are passionate about smashing the taboos surrounding conditions like urinary incontinence and overactive bladder. By providing informative articles like this one, we hope you feel more comfortable speaking about your bladder leaks and other symptoms. We also offer a range of specialised incontinence products, including leak-proof underwear and incontinence pads.

Don't let your bladder leakage prevent you from doing the things you love. If our recommended lifestyle changes don't work for you, make an appointment with your general practitioner to talk about other possible treatment options.