Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 2: Kegel Exercises to Strengthen the Pelvic Muscles
• Part 2 of 2: Controlling urination with behavioral therapy

You may have noticed that sometimes you urinate more often than usual. Frequent urge to urinate can be caused by drinking a lot of fluids, weak pelvic floor muscles, or even previous surgery. If you are not comfortable with this state of affairs and would like to use the bathroom a little less often, you can strengthen your pelvic muscles and take other measures, such as limiting your fluid intake. In some cases, it is worth consulting a doctor who can diagnose overactive bladder syndrome.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Kegel Exercises to Strengthen the Pelvic Muscles

1. 1 Evaluate the benefits of Kegel exercises. These exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that may have weakened as a result of pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, age-related changes, or overweight. Kegel exercises are quite simple, they can be performed by anyone at any time of the day, and they allow you to cope with the frequent urge to urinate and defecate.
   • The pelvic floor muscles support the uterus, bladder, small intestine, and rectum.
   • Kegel exercises allow you to relax and contract your pelvic floor muscles.
   • Kegel exercises can help you cope with frequent urge to urinate, especially during pregnancy.
   • If you are incontinent when sneezing, coughing, or laughing due to weakened pelvic floor muscles, Kegel exercises may be less effective.
2. 2 Locate the pelvic floor muscles. If you do not know where these muscles are located, it is very easy to find out. This will allow you to do Kegel exercises correctly and increase their effectiveness.
   • The easiest way to determine the location of the pelvic floor muscles is to interrupt urination in the middle. If you managed to do this, you thereby identified the pelvic floor muscles involved in this process.
   • It can take a couple of days to figure out where your pelvic floor muscles are located, but don't be discouraged and keep trying.
3. 3 Empty your bladder. Once you have established the location of your pelvic floor muscles, you can begin your Kegel exercises. Before doing them, you should empty the bladder to increase the effectiveness of muscle training.
   • Do not use Kegel exercises to start or stop urinating. This can weaken the pelvic floor muscles, cause later urinary incontinence and increase the risk of a urinary tract infection.
4. 4 Lie on your back. When doing Kegel exercises for the first time, or if you are not sure that you have accurately located the pelvic floor muscles, you should lie on your back. This position will allow you to contract your pelvic floor muscles more.
   • Lie on your back and start exercising only after you have completely emptied your bladder.
5. 5 Contract your pelvic floor muscles. Lying on your back or, if you are already experienced in doing Kegel exercises, in a different position that is comfortable for you, contract your pelvic floor muscles.Keeping the muscles tense, count to five, then relax them and also count to five.
   • Do this four or five times.
   • Over time, move on to contracting the muscles for 10 seconds and then relaxing them during the same time.
   • Do not hold your breath while contracting the muscles. Breathe normally.
6. 6 Focus on contracting your pelvic floor muscles. While you exercise, you can also tense your abdominal muscles, hips, and glutes, but you should focus all your attention on contracting your pelvic floor muscles. This will help you strengthen this muscle group as much as possible.
7. 7 Follow Kegel exercises three times per day. Do Kegel exercises at least three times a day. This will allow you to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and significantly reduce the frequency of your urge to urinate.
   • Do 10 exercises at least three times a day.
8. 8 Pay attention to strengthening your pelvic floor muscles. If you regularly practice Kegel exercises, then after a few months you will notice that your pelvic floor muscles have become stronger. You may also notice that you have less urge to urinate.

Part 2 of 2: Controlling urination with behavioral therapy

1. 1 Train your bladder. The method of training the bladder is to delay urination for a later time. This behavior will allow you to gradually increase the intervals between toilet visits.
   • Start your bladder workout by trying to delay using the bathroom 5-10 minutes after the first urge to urinate.
   • The ultimate goal is to extend the interval between toilet visits to 2-4 hours.
2. 2 Try emptying your bladder twice. This method consists of urinating twice over a short period of time. This allows the bladder to empty more completely and prevents overflow incontinence.
   • The most effective way to "double void" is to urinate twice, a few minutes apart.
3. 3 Schedule your bathroom visits. Delaying going to the bathroom for too long can cause or worsen urinary incontinence. Rather than delaying a trip to the bathroom every last time, make a schedule that will help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and successfully manage urinary incontinence.
   • Visit the toilet every 2-4 hours, depending on the amount of fluid you drink. The more you drink, the more often you should go to the bathroom.
4. 4 Drink less fluids. It is important to maintain the water balance of the body at the proper level, because your overall health depends on it. However, drinking too much water and other liquids can lead to more frequent bathroom visits.
   • Typically, men should consume about 3 liters of fluid per day, women about 2.2 liters.
   • A good way to determine if your body is dehydrated is to look closely at the color of your urine: if the urine is light yellow, there is enough fluid.
5. 5 Limit food and drink that irritate your bladder. Certain foods and drinks can irritate the bladder by stimulating urination. By reducing your intake of alcohol, caffeine, and acidic foods, you can more easily control your urge to urinate.
   • Reduce your intake of coffee, caffeinated teas, carbonated drinks, and milk.
   • Try to eat less acidic foods like tomatoes, citrus fruits, nuts.
   • Foods that are too salty can make you thirsty, leading to more frequent trips to the bathroom.
   • Limit the intake of protein foods, since the products of its breakdown by the body are excreted in the urine, which forces you to visit the toilet more often.
6. 6 Avoid taking diuretics. Diuretics, also called diuretics, reduce the amount of fluid in the blood and thus increase urinary flow. Avoiding diuretics can help you control your urge to urinate, but check with your doctor first.
   • Sometimes diuretics are used to treat diabetes insipidus, a disease that causes frequent urination.
   • Be sure to talk to your doctor before stopping any medication.
7. 7 Recognize the signs of frequent urination. Most people urinate every 3-4 hours throughout the day. If you use the restroom more often, see your doctor.
   • If you urinate frequently, you have to go to the toilet much more often than usual.
   • Frequent urination can occur both throughout the day and at night.
   • Frequent urination can negatively affect your well-being and health, as well as reduce your performance and sleep.
8. 8 See a doctor. If you have frequent urination or urinary incontinence, see your doctor. Your doctor will determine if your condition is caused by a urinary tract infection or kidney stones.
   • See your doctor if frequent urination and / or urinary incontinence is not associated with visible causes, such as drinking a lot of fluids, alcohol, or caffeinated foods.
   • You should also see your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms: blood in your urine, red or dark brown urine, pain when urinating, pain in your side, difficulty urinating or difficulty emptying your bladder, frequent strong urge to urinate, loss of control over the bladder.
   • Record each visit to the toilet. A detailed diary, which does not have to cover a long period of time, will help the doctor establish an accurate diagnosis.