The three things that most people do when they find that they are suffering from any sort of incontinence or urinary leaking are to decrease their fluids, increase their frequency of urination and to stop exercising.

They figure that if they're leaking fluid that they must be taking in too much or that decreasing intake will somehow make it less likely to leak out. They figure that if they have been urinating every three or four hours and leaking in between, then maybe they can stave off that leaking by going more frequently. They figure that if they have been leaking on impact when exercising, then maybe they should stop exercising. All of these are rational; all of them are wrong and set up the bladder for more incontinence.

If a bladder is already compromised, it may be that there are false signals relayed to the nervous system indicating an urge to urinate when the bladder is not full. Often this is from irritation within the bladder or from dyscoordinated neuromuscular activity of the bladder with other surrounding structures. In any case, the strategies of drinking less and urinating more are strategies of dehydration. This is never healthy systemically and actually makes the bladder worse off as it atrophies over time. The bladder has a muscular layer, the detrusor, and like any muscle, needs to be worked to stay healthy. Unlike other muscles, the detrusor is only worked when filled and stretched. The detrusor is stretched by the bladder filling up to functional capacity, by drinking fluids and urinating infrequently.

There are studies that show that any exercise done regularly, even if it doesn't address the pelvic floor itself, will improve the condition of the pelvic floor over time. If there is leaking on impact, the leaking is not caused by the impact; it is caused by the neuromuscular dyscoordination. One might consider switching to a low-impact exercise or wearing pads while continuing the higher-impact exercise.

So, counter-intuitive as it may seem, the best course of action when one starts leaking or experiencing any sort of incontinence is to drink more fluids, urinate less frequently and keep exercising (or exercise more). Work that bladder!

You might want to check out the List of Bladder Irritants in my Treasure Trove (tab in navigation bar).