Is Holding Your Urine Bad for You?
May 06, 2023
One of my favorite party tricks is doing heel raises to halt bladder urgency. This technique is helpful for improving bladder holding capacity, especially when working to minimize 'Just in Case' (JIC) bathroom trips.
In case you missed it, here’s the link to the video:
A lot of follow-up questions have been raised concerning the belief that holding urine leads to UTIs.
So, let's clarify a few things:
- Normal Bladder Habits: I encourage working towards 'normal' bladder habits of voiding every 2-3 or 3-4 hours. This can vary if you're consuming a large volume of fluids.
- Voiding Before and After Sex: It's advisable to urinate before and after sex to clear any bacteria. This is about the only exception to the JIC rule.
- UTIs and Urine Holding: While holding urine can be associated with recurrent UTIs, many studies have found that those with UTIs often have inadequate water intake and a fear of public bathrooms. These two factors often go hand-in-hand for those who avoid public toilets and minimize fluid intake to reduce the need for using them.
- Increasing Water Intake: Drinking more water has been proven to decrease UTIs. Water helps dilute urine and ensures more frequent urination to flush any bacteria from the urinary tract before an infection can start.
- Incomplete Voiding: This can lead to residual urine and bacterial buildup. A pelvic floor that can't relax may lead to incomplete voiding. Working on improving pelvic floor tension and the ability to relax during urination is important.
- Tight Pelvic Floor Symptoms: In the absence of a positive bacterial test for a UTI, it is common for a tight pelvic floor to mimic UTI symptoms.
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Cheering you on ♥๏ธ
- Caroline Packard, DPT