When Deadlifts Make You Go….Weeeeee!

I will get back to my steps to success in the next post, I have just been wanting to talk about this touchy, yet funny….not so funny subject. As powerlifters, we ALL love the deadlift. It is the most physically and mentally challenging lift in my opinion. It takes building not only the bodies muscle to achieve, but it also takes building the mental muscle. You can bring yourself to your most anxious state standing in front of that deadlift bar preparing to hit a new PR….the heart pounds, the palms sweat, you get dizzy before you even touch the bar. Then you go to lift, pulling with all you’ve got, you are a third of the way up and out of no where, very unexpectedly, you feel some warmth in the nether region and out comes a tinkle. You finish the lift, and embarrassment hits.

I know what you are thinking…..”did she just say she peed during deadlift???”. Well, yes I did. I follow a 10 thousand plus group of powerlifting women on Facebook, and this subject has been discussed over and over again. Women posting for the first time “please tell me I am not the only one!” or “do I need to see a doctor?”. I myself read tons of questions from women desperate for answers, and for solutions, but I never had it happen to me…ok maybe I had a little drip or two, but nothing I was concerned about……until that one dreaded day.

There I was…and I am not even sure how much I was lifting, but it was close to my max. I was implementing some form adjustments from some feedback I received. I had switched from conventional to sumo, so I was spreading my knees more, pulling the bar into me, and splitting the floor with my feet, and pushing my feet through the ground, while tightly bracing my core and removing the slack from my arms. I went to pull, and sure enough there it was, enough to leave some puddling on the platform. I finished my lift, put the bar down and quietly told my workout partner “well there you go, it finally happened to me…I just peed”. My workout partner quickly  cleaned up my mess with his sock, while still on his foot, and I ran to the bathroom. Now that’s a dedicated workout partner there! While my new form adjustments are helping the weight go up better, it is opening up a whole other can of worms!

So, there I was now one of the women posting in my powerlifting women Facebook page about this dreaded problem. I was determined to test some products and do some research and give some reviews so that these women would have options. But first, let’s talk about why this happens with women. One factor is having had children. If you have had children, you have some sort of bladder prolapse, even if it’s mild. There is also a small sphincter at the bottom of the bladder that holds the urine in. In women, this sphincter is not completely round, and there is not as much space for it so it is also not as strong as it is in men. Having children further weakens this sphincter in women. Next, we have a smaller bladder than men, constrained in size somewhat by the uterus and ovaries. That slightly smaller bladder happens to be positioned right under our uterus. Then we have a way shorter urethra, 2 inches verses the 8 inch urethra in men. Men have a built in p-trap, like in a toilet, it goes down, then curves slightly up, then down again. The short female urethra is positioned straight down from our already squished bladder. All of these factors are the perfect storm for a deadlifting bladder accident. Here is an image comparing male and female anatomy of the urinary tract for a better visual courtesy of this website schoolbag.info.

So what do we do? Well, I decided to research some products as well as talk to some doctors. The women in my powerlifting Facebook page encourage women to see a pelvic floor specialist as some women think deadlift bladder accidents are not normal. SO the first thing I did was see not one but two doctors to make sure I had no concerning problems. After normal exams, they both asked if it only happened during deadlift, which it does. One said lifting over 25 pounds could cause a problem and it’s normal. She suggested a vaginal laser “lift” called Thermiva where the vaginal tissue is slightly damaged with heat and allowed to repair resulting in lifting that I would be able to see, as well as the side effect of fixing my little problem…that she said wasn’t a problem….so I was confused. Well, I am not a fan of looking at my nether region, and honestly it is not in my budget to pay $3,000 for it to get a “lift”….plus $900 a year for “maintenance”.  She also suggested investing in vaginal weights….I have not ordered any, I am not sure if I will. Still contemplating that one! So on to the next doc, who said he has women come in who pee lifting their children, and I was lifting the equivalent of a refrigerator, so he’d be surprised if I DIDN’T pee. He explained why this happens in women who lift and offered a pessary device as an option, but didn’t really think it was needed. That is a device that is inserted into the vagina…and stays there, pinching off the urethra. I eventually got fitted for one, and actually used one at my last competition. It looks like a little Frisbee with a nub on one side. It wasn’t noticeable to wear it, and it seems to work…sometimes, but not every time, I think proper positioning is very important with this device….so the jury is still out on this one. I posted a pic of the one I received below. You fold it like a taco to insert. A google search for Milex Pessary will give you tons of information on how it works. It does take some instruction on how to insert and remove it, as it can be tricky. Your doctor will fit you properly and give you guidance.

I tried some other products. Poise Impressa was one of them, which is like a tampon that pops open like a little pop up tent….great visual, right? The pop up tent supposedly puts pressure on the urethra, pinching it off. Well, under the pressure of 315 pounds, it did not hold up. Next I tried the dreaded pads specifically made for this problem. Of course they work, but since I am spreading my knees, I find I need to wear two, side by side, to make sure they work. Yeah, don’t like that, but it works. It is also bulky. I also found a company called Icon Pee Proof Underwear that makes underwear specifically for this problem. I contacted the company and got a pair to try. They hold up to a whopping 8 teaspoons! SO I put them on, and was rather surprised at how close to being seamless they are, and they are rather cute! I have tested them many times, and both times they have held up under pressure for sure! I am sold and highly recommend them. They can leave you feeling wet if you have an incident though, but that is a small price to pay for the protection.

You can also work to strengthen and hold those pelvic floor muscles, which can be trained with kegel exercises to be braced properly during a lift, but it can take some time. This would obviously be the best option for this little problem. A specialized physical therapist can help with this, but they are hard to find. I honestly don’t even know if I am doing kegels correctly when I try, so I found a company that makes a kegel trainer called Intimate Angel. It is a device that is inserted into the vagina, like vaginal weights, and it links to an app on your phone and gives you feedback so you can learn to properly perform a kegel…it is like a pelvic floor physical therapist…in a box! You have the choice to follow guided exercises or play a game…..hmmmm sounds interesting! I am receiving one to test and am super excited to start training those muscles. I would like to get to the point that I can perform my wide kneed sumo deadlift and only have a drip or two, and not have the worry about leaving a puddle on the platform, without any protection! So wish me luck in training those muscles! I will keep you updated on how it works! I also found a website from another lifter and am going to take her advice and try some strengthening exercises and training for the pelvic floor to see if I can help fix the problem. Here is the link.

SO I will end this post saying that as in life, on the deadlift platform, women again get the short end of the stick, or in this case the short urethra. Being as how people have done many unpleasant things on the deadlift platform, including throwing up, passing out, bleeding from their nose…and probably some other unmentionable things, having a little wee is not something that should keep you from lifting. Until you can learn to hold those pelvic floor muscles during a lift, just prepare ahead of time for possible accidents and forget about it….you can still be the best you can be, even with a little wee!!! Hey, I am a poet and don’t know it! LOL! Happy lifting!