My doctor said that doing certain types of abdomimal exercise could help me avoid incontinence. Is this true?
Possibly. Incontinence happens when the muscles of the pelvic floor don't create enough pressure to support the abdominal organs.
A recent study found that the deep abdominal muscles can be used to activate the pelvic muscles. When subjects tightened their abs, their pelvic muscles also contracted. The stronger the abdominal contraction, the stronger the pelvic response.
The pelvic muscles responded even before the abs did to the contraction. This may be because the pelvic muscles anticipate the increase in pressure that's needed for continence.
From this study, it seems that training your abs can give your pelvic muscles a workout as well. And pelvic muscle strength can help reduce chances of having incontinence.
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