www.incontinentsupport.org

Hi all,
I always drip into my underwear after urinating, sometimes enough to be noticeable through pants. I was doing some research on the issue and it seems that heavy lifting is known to aggravate the problem. I work a part time 2nd job stocking in a liquor store and it's not unusual for me to stock 40-60 (sometimes more) cases of wine in a 3-4 hr shift. I have done over 100 cases in an 8 hr day over the holidays. Apparently heavy lifting weakens the pelvic floor muscles. I do protect my back by wearing a weight lifters belt but apparently that doesn't help with my problem. I guess that a case of wine weighs 30-35 lbs (some are closer to 50 I think) and I only weight 120 lbs.

I wonder if there is something else I can do to minimize the effect of the lifting on my pelvic floor muscles. Maybe a specific lifting technique or something. I don't want the problem to get worse and I don't want to quit this 2nd job either.

Thoughts?

Guy

You should always lift items by first squatting down, keeping your back straight, and then using your legs to lift rather than bending over at the waist and using your lower back muscles. There are a lot of videos online that will show you this proper lifting technique.

The solution to dripping after urinating, is to "milk" the rest of the urine out of your urethra by pressing behind your testicles, then running a finger down the length of your urethra, the part that runs down your penis. Should solve this (very common) problem, caused by urine staying in your urethra. It might take some practice, and some trial and error to find the best technique for you. If this does not solve your problem, then I suggest you see a urologist

A pelvic floor physical therapist would also be a valuable resource for you.

If the issue is caused by some sort of incurable, prostate-related pathology, you may find (as I have) that the various milking/muscle remedies are insufficient. A while back, I gave in to wearing pull-ups most of the time because of this. I hope you fare better than I did!