3 Reasons You Might Pee a Little Bit When You Least Expect It

glamour.com:

might be the time you aren’t going to make it to the bathroom on time. Urinary incontinence (yes, any involuntary leakage of urine gets this ominous name) is more than a little unsettling, and probably NOT one of the side effects of getting older that you’ve thought about, but it’s a reality—one brought on by a variety of factors.

Here are a few of the main ones: When the hammock of muscles known as your pelvic floor grows weaker (a common development as we inch ), it’s less effective at shoring up your bladder muscles and urethra against pressure, including the intense muscle contractions involved in a sneeze or cough, burst of laughter, sprint of running, or weight-lifting sesh.

Sometimes, that burst of pressure is just enough to prompt a little burst of pee. There’s a more clinical term for this, of course: stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

You could wear an absorbent pad or some period panties as a short-term sanity saver, but whatever you do, don’t swear off your favorite workout for fear that you’ll wet your leggings (studies have shown that up to have quit physical activities due to urinary incontinence)—a strong core is crucial to strengthening your pelvic floor muscles.