One in four men over the age of 40 suffer from urine leakage and 60% of them do not go to the doctor. In addition, only 4% use specific products for losses. Aware of this, on the occasion of Men’s Health Month since TENA Menu a series of actions are being carried out during this month of November to report this conditioncontribute to eliminate taboos and normalize this situation.
And it is that the incontinence and the urine leakage In men, despite being something very common, they can alter the rhythm of social life, daily activities, and have negative psychological repercussions. For this reason, specialists I had They insist that, although the losses are different according to each person, and regardless of whether in their case it is a matter of sporadic drops or larger losses, it is possible to control them and regain confidence.
The causes of urine loss they can be diverse. For the urinary system to function properly, the brain, muscles, and nerves have to work in unison to hold urine in the bladder and not release it until the brain gives a signal. However, there are many factors that can affect this process. The main ones are:
- Medication: for example, diuretic drugs can increase the risk of leaks
- infections urinary tract
- muscles temporarily weakened by prostate surgery
- Changes in the prostate size: for example, an inflamed prostate can obstruct the passage of urine
- He overweight adds extra pressure to the muscles of the abdomen and pelvis, making it more difficult to prevent urine leakage
- Diabetes or neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s)
All these factors can lead to different types of incontinence:
- urge incontinence, also known as “overactive bladder,” is the most common type of urine leakage. It occurs when you experience the urgent and sudden sensation of urination, so that you can hardly wait to get to the bathroom. The person may have the need to urinate between 4 to 8 times a day or more, as well as several times during the night. It is often related to an enlarged prostate or sequelae of prostate surgery.
- stress incontinencewhich occurs when coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting weight… It is a more common condition in men who have just undergone prostate surgery.
- postvoid dribblingIt occurs when, after going to the bathroom, a few drops of urine escape. There are two types of leakage of this type: leakage after urination and terminal leakage. These leaks occur because the bladder has not been completely emptied when urinating. Because of this, urine collects in the tube that comes out of the bladder. The most common causes of this type of loss are an enlarged prostate or weakened pelvic floor muscles.
- overflow incontinence, consisting of a constant or intermittent flow of urine. It is usually due to an obstruction to the flow of urine, which causes the bladder to overflow, leading to leakage.
Strengthen the pelvic floor to prevent losses
As indicated by specialists in practice a series of exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and improve bladder control can help reduce the urine leakage.
Contraction
Exercise the pelvic floor to control urine leakage: you just have to contract and exercise the right muscles to strengthen the pelvic floor.
Exercises
Before you start, look for the correct muscles to activate. The easiest way is to squeeze the same muscles that are used to contain gas. By squeezing the exact muscles you exercise the pelvic floor muscles and improve the strength and endurance of the muscles, which helps prevent urine leakage.
Force
Contract your pelvic floor muscles for one to two seconds, relax for 10 seconds, and repeat the exercise for up to 10 repetitions. Try not to contract your buttocks or clench your thighs or stomach at the same time while doing this exercise.
Perseverance
Use the same technique as for the strength exercise, but this time, instead of repeating short contractions, contract for 10 seconds, repeating up to 10 times. Relax 20 seconds between each repetition.
Endurance
Intensify the exercise by adding resistance to the abdomen when doing the strength and perseverance exercises.
strong contractions
Once you have mastered the previous exercises, try to contract and release the pelvic floor muscles strongly and quickly. Repeat up to 10 times.
For these exercises to begin to take effect, it will take several weeks. And one last piece of advice: maintain bladder control. planning bathroom visits and controlling the amount of fluid what is drunk For example, if you drink a liter and a half of water daily, it is completely normal to go to the bathroom up to 8 times a day.