LONDON, June 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Research reveals 9% of women
have 'accidents' daily, and 34% at least weekly* - that's more than
the average toddler (By comparison, 3% of men experience this
once in up to a year.) 60% of women who have given birth report a
weakened pelvic floor and/or incontinence.
Despite this, 32% of women have never exercised their
pelvic floor (an activity with known benefits for those
suffering bladder leaks). And though 11.7 million women
experience bladder leaks at least once weekly** few discuss it
for fear of ridicule; so women's intimate health
brand INTIMINA has partnered with Stopcocks, the UK's national
company of women plumbers to tackle taboos during World Continence
Week (17-23 June).
During this time Stopcocks Women Plumbers will be fixing
household leaks, having honest conversations about incontinence,
and gifting customers INTIMINA's pelvic floor training device -
KegelSmart 2.
Hattie Hasan MBE, Stopcocks Founder adds: "We deal with
women's leaks daily, because our customers feel more comfortable
dealing with other women. This is the first time a team of plumbers
will be equipped with the advice and devices to fix and prevent
future leaks in the pelvic floor, woman-to-woman. We are proud to
partner with INTIMINA and help shift the dial on pelvic floor
health".
INTIMINA'S Gynaecology Expert, Dr Susanna Unsworth, shared five common pelvic
floor mistakes:
- Stopping 'mid-flow' – once seen as a way of testing your
pelvic floor and even recommended to exercise the pelvic floor
muscles, this can cause issues: when you pass urine, the muscle of
the bladder contracts and the pelvic floor muscles relax. If you
contract your pelvic floor midstream this can result in the bladder
relaxing assuming it has emptied. Done regularly it can lead to
dysfunction of the bladder and contribute to ongoing problems such
as urgency and overactive bladder.
- 'Just-in-case' wees –Whilst ok to do
occasionally, repeated contraction of the bladder when it is not
full 'teaches' the bladder to empty small volumes. This can lead to
feeling an urgent need to pass urine even when the bladder is only
partly full, resulting in more frequent toilet trips and more
chance of incontinence if you cannot find a
loo.
- "Hovering"- women can often be faced with a very
uninviting public loos. This often results in tensing
and hovering over the seat, rather than sitting on it. This can
lead to contraction of the core muscles, including the pelvic
floor; the opposite of what we want to happen when passing urine.
This may lead on to us needing to contract our bladder more
aggressively to allow ourselves to pee, and can contribute to an
overactive bladder but also incomplete entities acting in the
bladder increasing the chance of UTIs.
- "Power wees"– there are two main elements to
passing urine: contraction of the bladder, and relaxation of the
pelvic floor. Neither requires excessive force, and if we
overstrain the balance between them can be disrupted. Blowing your
nose or forcing a 'power wee' whilst trying to pass urine can
influence these contractions and relaxation and lead to
dysfunctional bladder symptoms. The bladder usually only needs
light contraction to allow it to empty. As with all these things,
occasional occurrence is not going to cause a major issue, but do
not make it a habit.
- Sitting on the toilet too long –something I've
been guilty of as a parent - sometimes the only place to get some
peace is the toilet! But sitting on the toilet too long it can lead
to our pelvic floor staying relaxed for too long. Longer term, this
can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction. Allow 15-30 seconds after
finishing to make sure your bladder has fully emptied, but then get
up. (You can still hide in the bathroom if you need the time out,
but standing allows your pelvic floor to regain its usual level of
tension!)
Notes to editors:
* Survey of 2,020 UK respondents by CensusWide
** If total number of UK women 18+ is 34,492,000 (ONS)
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