Women suffering from urinary incontinence (UI) find themselves in quite the quandary: they are told to lose weight to decrease urine leakage, but discover that they can’t because they leak urine when they exercise.

Thus begins the vicious cycle where incontinent women can’t exercise for fear of leakage, which causes further weight gain … and even more urine leakage. In fact, one study indicates that almost one-third of middle-aged athletes were incontinent while exercising.

The Runaway Weight Train
It’s not uncommon for women with UI to find themselves riding on the runaway weight train. In addition to the fact that these women can’t exercise because of urine leakage, other issues surrounding UI contribute to weight gain. For instance, many women suffering from urinary incontinence:

- isolate themselves, which leads to loneliness and depression, and then to emotional eating and bingeing
- are menopausal, an age at which weight gain happens more quickly and easily than earlier in life
- are sedentary, thus more likely to have urinary leakage according to the Nurses Health Study

Paradoxically, new studies also indicate that certain classes of women who participate in very strenuous exercise early in life are more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence later in life! It’s easy to see how the vicious cycle of urinary incontinence and weight gain keeps going around, faster and faster.

The Link between Exercise and Urine Leakage
So why do women leak urine during exercise? There are two main reasons. First, women who have UI symptoms usually have weak pelvic floor muscles, which regular exercise does not strengthen or tone. Only exercises like Kegels, which target the pelvic floor muscles, can strengthen these internal muscles.

Second, strenuous exercise that includes bouncing or jumping can put a lot of stress on pelvic floor muscles, causing weakness. Did you know that when you jump your pelvic floor has to withstand the force of 25 pounds of pressure from your internal organs slamming down on it? No wonder many women leak urine just stepping off a curb. This especially affects women who have stress urinary incontinence, meaning they leak when stress is applied to the abdominal cavity.

What to Do If You Leak Urine While Exercising
First and most importantly, don’t stop exercising! Weight gain can significantly worsen UI symptoms, while losing even a few pounds can improve those symptoms. If you leak urine while exercising, it’s time to seek help from a healthcare professional and research your options. There are many conservative therapies that can help you reduce or eliminate UI symptoms, along with minimally-invasive surgical techniques.

Even if you have sought help before to no avail, you should keep asking. Ongoing research has resulted in new therapies that are more effective and may help you return to your regular exercise routine, without urine leakage.

Not sure you’re ready to dive in and seek help? Here are some resources to get you started:

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