By Riva Preil
A disturbing and somewhat shocking You Tube video was recently produced by Cross Fit entitled “Do You Pee During Workouts?â€
As of this writing, over 220,000 viewers have watched this video which features a misinformed gynecologist expressing her view that it is okay to pee while exercising. The video proceeds to feature multiple women who at initially bashfully confess but ultimately proudly declare “I pee during workouts!†One interviewee even has the guts to state, “It’s a correlate of intensity…and you know, maybe Heather and I are just going harder than everyone else,†as if a urine leak is a badge of honor of a true athlete. Nothing can be farther from the truth!
The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) responded to the video by stating that leaking urine while exercising is not normal, and it is actually avoidable. Beyond Basics Physical Therapy strongly supports the response of the APA in vehement opposition to Cross Fit’s tolerance to incontinence. It is NOT normal to leak urine while exercising, lifting your child, coughing, sneezing, or laughing (stress urinary incontinence). It is also not normal to leak urine on one’s way to the bathroom or to have to make a mad dash to the bathroom, otherwise they would leak on the way (urge incontinence). If you or someone you know is all too familiar with any of the aforementioned symptoms, please speak to your primary care physician and request a prescription for pelvic floor physical therapy. Specially trained physical therapists (like the P.T.s at Beyond Basics) teach patients how to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles with tactile, visual (ex. biofeedback), and verbal cuing. So maintain the intensity of your workout while maintaining your continence- it IS within your reach!
