Yoga and low-impact exercises like stretching reduce episodes of urinary incontinence in women by more than half, a new study finds.
- A new study claims that yoga and low-impact exercise help women manage urinary incontinence.
- Participants who did yoga had about 65% fewer episodes of incontinence.
- Women doing stretching and strengthening exercises experienced a similar benefit.
Urinary incontinence is a very common disorder among women. It affects between 25 and 40% of women depending on the study. In looking for a way to relieve these patients with low-risk and low-cost methods, a team from the University of California in San Francisco and Stanford Medicine discovered that yoga and low-impact exercises (stretching, etc.) help reduce urinary incontinence.
Yoga and stretching: episodes of urinary leakage reduced by at least 60%
For the study, the researchers recruited 240 women aged 45 to 90, with an average age of 62. Half of them were asked to follow a yoga program for 12 weeks. Among other things, they learned 16 Hatha yoga poses designed to strengthen the pelvic floor, through two 90-minute sessions per week. The remaining volunteers participated in sports classes over the same period that included stretching and strengthening exercises.
At the same time, patients had to note when they had urinary leaks and their nature. That is to say, urgency or stress incontinence (related to pressure from the abdomen: coughing, sneezing, etc.). At the start of the experiment, they had an average of 3.4 episodes of urinary leaks per day, including 1.9 episodes related to urgency incontinence and 1.4 episodes of stress incontinence.
Initially, the courses were in person, then they moved to a videoconference format during the lockdowns linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
After 12 weeks, participants who did yoga saw their incontinence episodes decrease by about 65%. Women who did stretching and strengthening exercises showed a similar benefit. Their frequency of urinary leakage decreased by about 60%.
Yoga: Inexpensive, non-surgical care
Given these results, Dr. Leslee Subak says it may be beneficial for women with urinary incontinence to do yoga or low-impact activities. “One of the take-home messages from this study is: Be active!”adds the expert in her press release.
Other nonsurgical treatments for incontinence, including medications, result in 30% to 70% improvement in symptoms, she says. But she says yoga is a great idea if you’re interested in the activity. “It’s a very low risk, and there’s potential for benefit not only for incontinence, but also for your overall well-being.”
