Why does my urgency increase during the summer?

Did you know that the bladder is temperature sensitive? 

Crazy, right? It is inside your body so it should not matter what the temperature outside your body is. However, the bladder is an organ that almost has a mind of its own. There are special nerves that go directly from the brain to the bladder and back to the brain. Thus, the bladder does kind of have a mind of its own since it is so closely linked to your brain.

When you go from warm weather (think 100 deg) and then step inside to an air conditioned room, your bladder senses that change and can respond by contracting. That contraction then causes a sudden urge to pee. 

Be the boss of your bladder

If you have a sudden urge to pee, do not let that urge take over. You controlling your brain, is more powerful than your bladder controlling your brain. When the bladder contracts, it sends a signal to your brain that you have to pee. You can 100% take over the control. It might take some time to remind your bladder who is the boss, but it is absolutely possible. 

But what if I have a small bladder?

For the most part, your bladder is the size of your fist. The bladder is a muscle that can expand and contract. If you have not allowed your bladder to expand, then yes, it might seem small. However, it is never too late. You can retrain your brain to allow your bladder to expand so that it is no longer small.

There are several techniques you can use to help decrease the urge

One technique is diaphragmatic breathing. When you get the urge to pee, take a deep diaphragmatic breath to help relax the nerves. You should pee about every 2-4 hours. (Yes, even if you drink a lot of water!) So, if you have peed recently <2 hours, then try to take some deep diaphragmatic breaths to get your muscles to relax and to tell the bladder to calm down.

Another technique is to do 5-6 pelvic floor contractions. By contracting the pelvic floor muscles, you are sending a signal to the brain saying, “Hey, no! It is not time to pee yet.” It is important that your muscles are able to fully relax after contracting them to allow the nerves to calm down.

A third technique is to do calf raises. The nerves that go to the calf muscles come out of the spine the same place that a nerve to the bladder comes out. So if you use your calf muscles, you are stimulating the nerve to the bladder as well, which will tell the bladder that it can relax and that it is not time to pee right now. Watch the video to show you how to do them.

What else to do?

There is also a hip muscle that is in the pelvis called the obturator internus. When this muscle is tight or has trigger points in it, it can refer to the bladder. If this muscle is tight it needs to be released to allow it to relax. One way to release it is with manual therapy. A pelvic floor physical therapist can release the muscle to take away any tightness. There is also a tool you can get to help self release the muscle. It is called a pelvic floor wand.