Incontinence & Overweight: Continence Week 2016
From March 21 to March 27, 2016 took place, as every year, an event organized by the French Association of Urology: “the week of continence”(1). This show focuses on incontinence, a taboo pathologythat concerns, all the same, 2 million French. This year it is the link between obesity and incontinence that was chosen by the association.
Indeed, overweight can aggravate incontinenceas well as be the cause of it. The good news is that, conversely, losing weight reduces the effects of incontinence. It is therefore not too late to fight against what is often experienced as an inexorable situation by many obese people.
An alarming finding
Obesity affects an increasing number of individuals. This results in a parallel increase in urination and defecation disorders. It should be noted that overweight women suffer three times more incontinence and five times more urinary incontinence. Admittedly, these pathologies are well taken care of but overweight remains an aggravating factor.
The effectiveness of a treatment will depend mainly on a prior weight loss of the obese person and thus, losing 10% of his weighthalves the frequency of leakage.
Scientists believe that excess body weight puts more pressure on the pelvic floor. It is this excess pressure reflected on the pelvic organs that leads to many disorders such as urinary or incontinence, sexual disorders as well as organ descents.
In addition, overweight is a source of sedentary lifestyle. The obese person spontaneously reduces his physical activity. The muscles are weakened aswell asthe sphincters. This is the story of the snake that bites its tail: the beginning of incontinence handicaps the daily life of the individual who suffers from overweight and it decreases, all the more, the desire to do a sport, even the most moderate.
Some exercises
Ideally, to lose weight through exercise, you should go graduallytag. Thus, at first, climbing a few stairs at a brisk pace or walking between 20 and 30 minutes a day are all simple and effective actions to lose your installed pounds.
Swimming is also good physical practice because the support of water makes the exercises easier and more enjoyable to perform.
On the other hand, it is better to avoid jogging. This will be put in place when a few pounds are lost. Indeed, the joints are much more fragile in case of obesity. And as you have to listen to your feelings and sensations, and pain is quickly felt in the case of excess effort, no one will be more concerned than yourself in losing weight.
Finally, to avoid urinary incontinence, losing weight is a good initiative but it is not enough. It is equally important to strengthen your perineum.
To obtain a firm and toned pelvic floor, there is nothing better than the practice of hypopressive gymnastics and the strengthening of the muscles which surround the vagina and the anus. To do this, simply contract the circular muscles located in these areas. Squeezing your orifices first requires mental concentration: imagine an object inserted into your orifices that you are trying to squeeze harder and harder. These practices will allow you to become aware of your perineal body diagram.
So that incontinence is not inevitable for the overweight person, multiple solutions exist. And if you need to talk about it, you can contact the French Association of Urology on their website.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.