How to Pee When You Have a Bladder Prolapse

The functional problem with bladder prolapse is that we may have difficulty fully emptying our bladder. This happens because when we sit to pee, there can be a portion of urine that is pocketed away from the bladder outlet. The urine sitting in this pocket doesn’t drain automatically. Happily for us, there are physical maneuvers we can do to help this urine drain. 

When we take the time to ensure we’re fully empty of urine each time we sit to pee, we reduce our risk of UTIs. We stop dribbling urine when we step away from the toilet. We also reduce bothersome urinary frequency. Pelvic floor PT knowledge for the win!

Step 1. Do some gentle deep breathing on the toilet.

When we take deep breaths and allow the diaphragm to descend fully down on the inhale, we give a pressure boost to help the bladder empty.

Step 2: Lean forward

Lean forward or press gently with your hands just above your pubic bone. This additional pressure will gently squeeze pocketed urine out.

Step 3: Stand up, move around, sit back down (aka, “double voiding”)

For those of us with bladder prolapse, we may need to move around a bit to reposition the bladder so that all the urine can drain. Try peeing once, then stand up and move around a bit before sitting back down and peeing a second time (“double voiding.”) The type of moving around that is optimally useful but minimally time consuming is individual for the person. Some find that just standing up and sitting back down once is useful. Others need to walk up and down the hallway, march in place, or do some side stretches. Experiment with a few different movement options and out what works for you. 

Pelvic Care Physical Therapy

3770 W. Robinson St. - Ste. 112 - Norman, OK - 73072 

www.pelviccare.org - 405.240.9575 – info@pelviccare.org