Always running to the bathroom?
Do you find yourself running to the bathroom barely able to make it without peeing your pants?
Do you find yourself getting close to home and having a sudden urge to pee?
Do you hear water running and have to run to the bathroom?
Do you see the toilet and need the potty dance to make sure you don’t pee your pants?
If you said yes to any of these questions, keep reading!
These symptoms do NOT have to be your normal because you just had a baby, are getting older or because “everyone else is doing it.”
Urinary urgency and triggers are things we can help with in pelvic health at Loon State Physical Therapy.
Urinary urgency is the immediate need to run to the bathroom and sometimes lose control of your bladder while doing so.
Triggers are activities or objects that make us feel the immediate need to run to the bathroom. These can be things like hearing water running, seeing the toilet, or putting your key in the door.
Why do these things happen? Our bladder sends different signals to our brain, often times the signals to our brain are getting sent too early and cause our brain to think we need to pee as soon it receives this signal. The bladder should be sending multiple signals to the brain, but sometimes we start to listen to the first signal too frequently and it becomes the only signal we respond to.
How do we improve this? First, ask yourself when the last time you used the bathroom was, our bladder should be able to hold urine for 3-4 hours (depending on how much liquid you’ve had). If you just went to the bathroom 20 minutes ago, you likely don’t have to go right now. Try these things to send different signals and calm the nervous system:
Three big belly breaths, breathe in for :04 and out for :04
Three pelvic floor contractions through full range of motion
Ask yourself if you still need the bathroom right now
If you know what your “triggers” are try to relax the system before the trigger happens. For example, if my trigger is turning the shower on I am going to take three big belly breaths and tell myself that I don’t need to use the bathroom BEFORE I turn the shower on.
If you try these things and are still experiencing symptoms, come see us for pelvic health at Loon State Physical Therapy. Don’t let your bladder be in charge of your day, take back your freedom!
Schedule here for a FREE discovery call to see if Pelvic Physical Therapy is right for you. Schedule here if you are ready for your first appointment!
- Lexi Noel, DPT
