If you experience urine leakage when coughing, sneezing, running, or exercising,
or if you often feel a sudden, intense urge to rush to the bathroom,
You’re not alone! This is not something you should feel embarrassed about.
Bladder control issues are very common, yet they are still rarely talked about openly.
Many people assume leakage or urgency is something they simply have to live with, but that’s not true.
How Common Are Bladder Control Issues?
Bladder control symptoms can occur in many different situations, including:
- During or after pregnancy
- Around menopause
- With aging
- After pelvic, abdominal, or orthopedic surgery
- Or sometimes, even without a clear triggering event
These symptoms can affect daily life more than people realize — limiting exercise, social activities, travel, and confidence.
Many individuals quietly adapt their lives around bathroom access rather than addressing the root cause.
Why Does Leakage or Urgency Happen?
Bladder control issues are often related to pelvic floor dysfunction.
However, this does not always mean weakness.
In clinical practice, many people are surprised to learn that their pelvic floor muscles may be:
- Overly tight
- Poorly coordinated
- Unable to relax at the right time
When the pelvic floor cannot properly coordinate with the bladder, breathing, and core muscles, symptoms such as leakage, urgency, or incomplete emptying can occur.
That’s why simply being told to “do Kegels” is not always the solution!
In some cases, it may even make symptoms worse.
How Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Helps
Pelvic health physical therapy focuses on retraining the connection between the bladder, pelvic floor, and core, rather than just strengthening muscles indiscriminately.
Treatment is individualized and may include:
- Assessing pelvic floor coordination, not just strength
- Improving the ability to relax as well as contract
- Retraining bladder habits and nervous system responses
- Integrating breathing, posture, and movement patterns
Care is provided in a one-on-one, private, and personalized setting, with a strong emphasis on comfort, consent, and education.
There Is Help and There Is Hope
Leakage or urgency is not a personal failure.
It is not something you need to “just deal with” or hide.
With the right guidance and individualized care,
regaining bladder control and confidence is possible.
If you have been experiencing symptoms and wondering whether they are normal, pelvic health physical therapy may be an important next step.
Want to learn more or book a session?
Book your visit here with Dr. Rowan, a physical therapist trained in Herman & Wallace Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging (RUSI), and begin your recovery journey!
