HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Bladder retraining
Whakangungu anō i te pukumimi
Bladder retraining aims to improve your bladder control. It aims to teach your bladder muscles to increase the amount of wee (urine) your bladder can hold. It also aims to reduce the number of times you have to pass wee (urinate). Bladder retraining doesn't happen quickly. But over time you should be able to control your bladder.
You may do bladder training and pelvic floor muscle training at the same time.
It's often useful to complete a bladder diary. A bladder diary records when and how much you drink as well as when and how much wee you pass.
If you're drinking enough, you can expect to go to the toilet between six and nine times a day.
Bladder retraining involves setting times when you want to wee. You then gradually increase the intervals between weeing. This results in reducing the number of times you wee in a day.
Steps to control your bladder
- Avoid too much caffeine as it can increase the amount of wee your body makes. Limit caffeinated drinks to two to three cups per day. Caffeine is in coffee, tea, energy drinks and cola drinks.
- Space drinks throughout the day.
- Avoid drinking too much before bedtime.
Steps to control your urgency
When you feel a sudden strong urge to wee, try to delay going straight away. Try to hold on for one minute at first. Then gradually increase this by a few minutes according to your ability. Over time, your bladder should learn to hold more wee. The following techniques may help:
- try to stay calm and wait until the urgency feeling lessens (it may take a few minutes)
- mental distractions may help, for example, counting backwards or in multiples, reading or talking
- physical distractions may also help, for example, sitting straight and clenching your fists tightly, pushing the ball of your foot hard onto the floor, squeezing and holding your pelvic floor muscles, sitting down on a firm chair or the edge of a seat.
When the urgency feeling goes, either continue what you were doing or walk calmly and slowly to the toilet.
Practise these steps every time you feel a sudden urge to wee.
After three months, if these steps aren't helping, go to see your health professional.
Written by Allied Health – Physiotherapy Services, Christchurch Women's Hospital. Adapted by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed April 2023.
SourcesReview key: HIURS-53047
