Running dry: one athlete's non-surgical approach to overcoming incontinence

Incontinence, losing control of the bladder, is often associated with people who are elderly or infirm. Diane never paid attention to the supermarket section where adult diapers were sold. Why should she? She was a healthy 49-year-old runner just starting to place in her 10K races. But nature sometimes has a way of playing rude jokes on us.

At first, Diane ignored the urge to urinate every time she neared mile four in her training runs. Perhaps she had contracted a bladder infection, she thought. Yet Diane's symptomes gradually worsened, and it becane increasingly difficult for her to control her bladder muscle. Although she dwelled on her discomfort, she told no one about it. She thought her problem was unmentionable.

When she finally consulted a doctor about her incontinence, he suggested surgery. Yet, after spending 20 years training her body to conquer long distances, she didn't want to let her physical fitness disintegrate with a doctor's hasty decision. Determined to alleviate her problem without undergoing surgery and a six-month recovery period, Diane sought alternative therapies. She followed her urologist's advice to begin biofeedback treatment to strengthen the pubococcygeus, PC, muscle group--muscles that stretch from the pubic bone in front to the coccyx bone at the base of the spine. The PC muscle group encircles the uretha (the canal through which urine is discharged) and the rectum--its strength is crucial to proper bladder and bowel function. Incontinence therefore, is often the result of weak PC muscles. Childbirth and menopause are examples of a number of physical factors that contribute to weak PC muscles. Biofeedback treatment and regular exercise can restrengthen these muscles. In a biofeedback session, a probe is inserted into the vagina to detect PC muscle activity. The probe is attached to a wire that connects to an electromyographic (EMG) machine, which measures muscular tension. Surface electrodes taped to the stomach are used simultaneously to measure the activity of the abdominal muscles. In order to isolate the smaller muscles of the pelvic area, which give a weaker signal, both the abdominal muscles and the PC muscles must first be identified.

Once the correct pelvic muscles are identified and isolated through biofeedback, therapy consists of Kegel exercises, tensing and relaxing these muscles regularly. As muscles become stronger, exercises can be reduced. Once Diane's PC muscles became healthy again, she only had to exercie them three times a week a preventative maintenance. After one week of Kegel exercise, Diane's condition improved. After four weeks, she ran eight miles without having to look for a restroom.

Diane's experience demonstrates how our bodies respond positively to exercise. Twenty years ago, her lungs clutched for oxygen after running a quarter of a mile. Now a marathon and hundreds of races later, she has trained her muscles to run long distances. Like developing the strength to run, the body can retrain a dormant muscle, such as the PC muscle, through exercise rather than pills or surgery.

At last Diane not only runs stronger now, she also runs dry.

Nancy Martin is a freelance writer living in La Jolla, California.

COPYRIGHT 1992 Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group