Running and urinary leakage

[Anonymous]

I want to run again and train for a half marathon but am concerned I may be doing more damage than good. I have had 3 children after which running was totally out of the question due to feeling like insides falling out and definitely tinkling. Now 7 years later can mostly run but occasionally have leakage and “feel off” down there. For those of you that have experienced this/seen drs for what have you learned? Am I weakening the pelvic floor and be better off sticking with low impact exercises?

[Anonymous]

Your posture is probably off as a result of pregnancies, and when your posture is off when running it places all kinds of stress on your pelvis. A pelvic floor pt can evaluate you for possible prolapse or weak internal core muscles, and can also figure out if you need to correct your posture, running form, and maybe strengthen certain leg muscles to reinforce good posture.

[Anonymous]

Doctors seem to pretty much always advise against running. I tried pelvic floor therapy. Did nothing. I still leak a little while running but with pads it's fine. I just limit water and caffeine a few hours before a run. I used to like a morning coffee first but can't if I want to have a comfortable run. A bigger issue is my hips have changed after 3 kids so running isn't like what it used to be and I have chronic soreness in my hips. So I don't run as far as I used to and I have more rest days in between runs. Probably not the advice you're looking for but that's my $.02. I still enjoy runs but keep them under 5 miles.

[Anonymous]

OP, you should consider seeing a urogynecologist for a specific diagnosis. Pelvic floor exercises won’t help everyone. I had TVT surgery to address stress incontinence after two vaginal births and no longer have a problem.

[Anonymous]

Awesome thanks all for the input.

[Anonymous]

I had reconstructive surgery.

[Anonymous]

Also try to avoid caffeine before running. The diuretic component seems to manifest in leaking for me.

[Anonymous]

I'm similar to you, OP. I have three kids and I leak when I run. I wear Poise bladder leak pads and it's not a problem. I trained for and ran a half marathon last year. I changed the pad half way through the race. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

What are the best pads to wear?

[Anonymous]

There’s speax underwear from thinx for pee. It got me back running again and then the problem eventually stopped (still have to go sometimes during run but doesn’t just leak out anymore)