So you may be have been told that post baby – or with age – that leaking urine or faeces is normal – it’s what you should expect.

This helps to breed indifference to what can be a problem that is easily (ok you do need to work at it!) rehabilitated. Tena lady and other sanitary towel companies make money from you being told that this situation is normal – that there’s not really too much you can do about it – it’s common – put on a pad and get to an exercise class or just get on with your life.

There are more than one type of incontinence that you can suffer from:

Stress –

• Loss of control of bladder function
• When laughing, coughing or sneezing
• On movement or impact – this can be high or low
• You may leak when with legs apart, you simply bend over or walk upstairs –
• These are your fast twitch muscles not firing properly – being weak and also they may also be too tight – essentially your bathroom muscles not opening and closing when you want them to

Urge

• ‘Key in the lock’ scenario – you made it home and now have a pressing urgency to go pee/poo
• Being caught short
• A need to go immediately
• No possibility of holding it in
• These are your slow twitch muscle fibres that are weak – and perhaps tight too

Overflow

• When you void or go pee but there’s something left behind
• Feeling of not fully emptying the bowel or bladder
• Higher risk or urinary tract infection

Mixed

• When you suffer from a combination of the symptoms above.

Hypopressive exercise uses thoracic breathing to decrease the pressure on the pelvic floor – lifting the pelvic floor muscles and working the ‘friend to your pelvic floor muscles’ muscles that surround your pelvic floor to lengthen and strengthen them.