Pilates involves a combination of breathing techniques and exercises that target your core and pelvic floor muscles. As you inhale, you activate your diaphragm and lengthen your pelvic floor muscles. As you exhale, your transverse abdominis and pelvic floor muscles contract. Together, these strengthen the urinary system, reproductive structures, and the lumbar spine-pelvis complex, according to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
In this study, 18 women aged 45 to 70 years with stress urinary incontinence underwent a community-based Pilates program twice a week for 12 weeks. There are many different types of urinary incontinence, but stress urinary incontinence is bladder leakage caused by a sudden increase in intra-abdominal pressure, such as when coughing. According to the study results, after six months, participants reported a significant reduction in bladder leakage. Although more detailed studies are needed, the research team emphasized that the community Pilates pelvic floor muscle training program may be an effective and sustainable adjunctive treatment to reduce symptoms of stress urinary incontinence.
