According to the epidemiological survey in some areas of China, the incidence of female urinary incontinence is 5.9% for those over 18 years old, 1.1% for those between 18 and 40 years old, and 10% for those over 40 years old, and the incidence rate of elderly women is even as high as 70%, which is a very common but easily overlooked disease, causing a lot of inconvenience to women's lives, devouring women's self-confidence and health, and in serious cases, it may be secondary to Complications.

1、Who is at risk of urinary incontinence?

① Pregnant women

During pregnancy, the growing uterus increases the pressure on the lower urinary tract; at the same time, hormonal changes in the body cause the pelvic floor muscles to relax, increasing the incidence of urinary incontinence.

② Postpartum women

The growing uterus of a woman during pregnancy can cause cumulative pressure on the pelvic floor muscles.

During labour, excessive compression of the pelvic floor muscles by the foetal prelude not only leads directly to perineal tearing and damage to the anorectal muscles, but also pulls and compresses the nerves innervating the pelvic floor supportive tissues, leading to neurological damage to the pelvic floor muscles and urethral sphincter, and indirectly damaging the supportive function of the pelvic floor tissues. Forceps-assisted delivery may also damage the pelvic floor fascia and ligaments, leading to incomplete collagen fibre repair of the tissues and affecting their function.

③ Middle-aged and elderly women

When coughing, the muscles in our abdomen, by exerting force, cause a sudden increase in pressure in the bladder, and the body naturally contracts the urethral muscles through a conditioned reflex to block the gush of urine.

As women age and oestrogen declines, the pelvic floor muscles become flaccid and weak, the muscles supporting the bladder and urethra gradually lose strength, and the control of urine is greatly reduced, resulting in stress urinary incontinence.

④ Women with high abdominal pressure

In daily life, the increase of chronic intra-abdominal pressure will also put pressure on our pelvic floor muscles, such as long-term constipation, chronic respiratory diseases, long-term weight-bearing, obesity and so on.

Especially abdominal obese people, the abdominal wall is obviously thickened at the same time as the intra-abdominal pressure rises, many people also have dyslipidaemia, which will also have a certain impact on the bladder nerve distribution and blood flow in the body, which will lead to an increase in the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence.

2、Prevention of urinary incontinence

① Drink less water at night

Drink a sufficient amount of water (1500-1700ml) during the day and less at night. Insufficient water intake will lead to concentration of urine, aggravating mixed incontinence and even causing urinary tract infection.

② Exercise your pelvic floor muscles

Exercising the pelvic floor muscles on a daily basis can improve the tone and contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, thus supporting the pelvic organs and the bladder neck, increasing the strength of the urethral sphincter, and resisting the increase of pressure in the pelvic cavity. Pelvic floor muscle exercise is just like any other muscle exercise, it is important to focus on daily consolidation exercise in order to effectively maintain the muscle strength of the pelvic floor muscles.