Yoga and urinary incontinence
Let's pose a question: What could yoga poses (called "asanas") have to do with managing urinary incontinence? Quite a bit according to a new study that found that both general physical conditioning and doing pelvic floor yoga (yes, that's a thing) reduce urinary leakage significantly. FYI: Pelvic floor muscles control the flow of urine and the release of bowel movements (and gas). They are what you squeeze when you do Kegel exercises!
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that doing a twice-a-week, 12-week-long program of Hatha yoga pelvic floor techniques or general skeletal muscle stretching and strengthening exercises both help -- and do as good a job managing urinary incontinence as the usual medications used for treatment. That's great news for the 50% of middle-aged women who struggle with urinary urgency and leakage, and the more than 80% of very elderly who do.
The researchers used 16 Hatha yoga poses that they modified to suit any ability. Standard pelvic strengthening poses can include Downward Facing Dog, Bridge Pose, Happy Baby Pose, Garland Pose, Bound Angle Pose, and Low Lunge Pose.
By the program's end, folks doing the low-impact yoga had about 65% fewer episodes of incontinence. Women in a control group doing stretching and strengthening exercises experienced just a tad less improvement.
For more information on maximizing your yoga practice and integrating physical conditioning into your day, check out "How to Enhance the Benefits of Your Yoga Practice" at iHerb.com/blog and Dr. Mike's "The RealAge Workout."
Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).
(c)2024 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2024 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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