Stress incontinence: everything you need to know

You laugh, sneeze or exercise – and suddenly you notice that urine has leaked. You feel your face flush and hope no one noticed. Perhaps you have already heard of stress incontinence and are now wondering, “Could that be what I have?” Gain greater control over your body with MyPelvi and improve your well-being.

If you leak urine unintentionally, this is referred to as urinary incontinence. Did you know that urinary incontinence occurs more frequently than any other chronic condition – even more often than high blood pressure, depression or diabetes?

There are various forms of urinary incontinence, and stress or exertion incontinence – when you leak urine while lifting, sneezing, coughing or laughing – is the most common, accounting for 50 % of cases [2].

Stress incontinence is associated with weak pelvic floor muscles and pressure in the abdominal cavity. During any physical exertion (for example, when lifting heavy objects, exercising or even laughing and sneezing), pressure on the bladder increases. If the muscles that normally close the bladder are not strong enough to withstand this pressure, urine leaks out.

We know that this can put you in extremely unpleasant and emotionally distressing situations. Fortunately, however, there are ways to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles in a targeted way and reduce or even stop urine loss.

The most effective way is pelvic floor training with MyPelvi. This innovative method uses magnetic waves that stimulate and reach even the deepest muscle layers. Compared with conventional pelvic floor training, this means you always reach the right muscles and do not even have to exert yourself.

You read that correctly! You can simply sit down in your everyday clothes and lean back. The MyPelvi chair does the training for you:

Ready to begin?Book your MyPelvi trial training now

Do you think you may have stress incontinence, but are unsure?

Answer the following questions honestly to find out whether you should start pelvic floor training or seek medical advice:

Do you sometimes leak urine when you laugh, sneeze or cough? Have you ever noticed urine leaking while lifting heavy objects? Do you feel unable to fully control urine leakage through conscious effort?

For women:

Did incontinence begin around 3 months after your first delivery [5]? Did your incontinence worsen after pregnancy if it was already present before? Was a vacuum extraction or episiotomy performed during your first delivery [5]?

For men:

Have you had a prostatectomy?

If you answered “Yes” to one or more of these questions, it may be stress incontinence. Stress incontinence can be treated effectively: targeted training and medical assessment can significantly improve the symptoms.

We recommend that you speak to specialists, such as doctors or our MyPelvi experts, about your symptoms to receive the correct diagnosis and treatment.

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Emotional stress is not directly associated with stress incontinence. At MyPelvi, we therefore prefer to describe it more generally as incontinence caused by physical exertion.

Yes, psychological factors can certainly play a role in the development or worsening of incontinence. Emotional stress, anxiety or traumatic experiences can cause you to lose control of your bladder in certain situations.

This is known as functional incontinence, in which the problem is psychological rather than physical. In such cases, it may help to seek psychotherapeutic support in addition to physical treatment.

Stress incontinence can often be treated with targeted pelvic floor training. In severe cases, other treatment methods are also available, such as medication or minor surgical procedures. With the right support and patience, however, you can make significant progress.

The first and most important step in treating stress incontinence is training the pelvic floor muscles, as a weakened pelvic floor is the main cause. Regular pelvic floor training can help strengthen the muscles and control urine leakage.

MyPelvi training gives you the opportunity to train your pelvic floor without any physical exertion. All you have to do is sit on the MyPelvi chair in your everyday clothes.

The innovative magnetic wave technology sends impulses to your muscles, stimulating and strengthening them. See for yourself:

Ready to begin?Arrange a MyPelvi trial session now

For urinary incontinence, you can consult urologists or gynecologists to determine the severity of your condition and suitable treatment options. Your general practitioner and MyPelvi’s team can also assist in diagnosing and treating urinary incontinence in many cases.

Stress incontinence can be uncomfortable and emotionally distressing – we understand that very well. But the most important thing is this: You are not alone, and there are effective ways to address the problem. Targeted pelvic floor training with MyPelvi in particular has proven especially effective in helping you regain control over your body. Do not hesitate to take the first step and see for yourself in order to improve your quality of life!

Learn the right technique with guidance — free of charge at your MyPelvi studio.