Jumping rope and dashing to the restroom?!

​When you see jump rope on the whiteboard do you instantly tense up because you know that you will be running to the bathroom midway through?
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I can always see the tell tale look of someone jumping rope, stopping abruptly and looking at me with wide eyes. 
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Believe it or not this is a health issue that we can help with!!
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The leakage of urine is actually known as “stress urinary incontinence.” The reason for this specific issue is that the muscles surrounding the bladder, including the urethra, are weak. 
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While jumping rope puts force on the bladder, the lack of pelvic muscular strength allows the pass through of urine and the inability to hold it back. Pelvic muscles are the ones in control of squeezing when trying to hold back urine and/or bowel movements.
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Oftentimes, this lack of strength is a result of pelvic floor dysfunction.
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Research proves that the majority of women (1 in 3) who have given natural birth deal with pelvic floor dysfunction. However, it is not limited to this population, and can even occur in men.
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Pelvic floor dysfunction is very common in women, many of whom go untreated because they don’t notice any symptoms or think it’s “normal”.
Let’s just clear the air and say that it is NOT normal- though we should not be shamed if it does happen to us! 
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Just like many health issues, if this goes untreated for too long, it could lead to larger complications- pelvic organ prolapse (which is a serious condition and may require surgery).
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Let’s get sciency! 
After women give birth, the tremendous stretching of the pelvis causes the pelvic muscles to weaken and may even tear the tissue surrounding the pelvic organs which causes instability.
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Typically after childbirth women become weak through their pelvic muscles and lose some, if not all, of their ability to contract/relax these muscles which support organs including the bladder, uterus, and rectum.
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While our pelvic floor muscles are usually contracted in order to hold our organs in place, we have to relax these muscles in order to urinate or have a bowel movement. Most women tend to find that they are contracting when they should be relaxing. And in other cases, they are not able to contract when necessary, such as when jumping rope, to hold back the passing of urine.
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Although there is a lot more to pelvic floor dysfunction and several more reasons for it happening, the most common thing I see at 1936 RiverCity Fitness is the urgency to dash to the restroom when there is any jumping involved. Which is why I am writing this and want to shout from the rooftops that this common issue CAN be corrected!
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As I mentioned earlier, although this is very common, it does not mean it is NORMAL to continue exercising with it!
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Be mindful of what you are feeling. 
Do not be embarrassed to bring this issue up with one of your coaches. Especially with Coach Jenny or myself, as we too have dealt with this annoying issue. We have specific exercises to help strengthen your pelvic floor that you can do in the gym and at home!
Coach Sara