My pelvic floor muscles seem to be giving up on me now I am going through menopause

Question

Hi, I am 51 and going through menopause and my pelvic floor muscles seem to be giving up on me. I do a lot of exercise and always have to pad up prior to this. But more recently, have also noticed that I have to rush to the toilet as soon as I feel the urge otherwise I wet my pants.What product would be suitable for me? The NatraTone or the Smartballs? I have never felt comfortable wearing tampons so wonder if these are comfortable to wear and easy to insert.

Pelvic Floor Answers

During menopause, the change in hormones frequently result in the softening of the pelvic floor muscles, except for women who have maintained regular pelvic floor exercises. Exercising other parts of your body and being physically fit does not necessarily result in strong pelvic floor muscles unless you are doing Yoga or Pilates. Heavy lifting can weaken your pelvic floor muscles.

What you are likely to have is Urge or Stress incontinence. Fortunately this can be resolved through toning your pelvic floor muscles and ultimately you will be able to dispense with pads when you are exercising.

If you have found tampons uncomfortable,I would recommend using the Natratone, this device is very effective, is excellent at helping you identify and activate the correct muscles and help banish both the urge and the bladder weakness. As it sits just in the vaginal opening, you are likely to find it easier  to use than the Smart Balls.

While the minimum recommend exercise time is 3 days per week, twice a day for 5 minutes, for a period of 6 weeks, we encourage women use it more frequently- ie daily and for a longer period of time- or simply to continue the exercises (without the device) as a regular part of your daily routine, to ensure you banish bladder weakness permanently, including into old age.

Once you have notice some improved muscle tone,I would recommend reading the information on Over Active Bladder, as sometime the urgent urge to pee can create an unhelpful response that you can train yourself out of, however you need to have reasonable bladder control to start with.