Do you leak after you pee? You may be experiencing post micturition dribble.
It’s common(ish) knowledge that urinary leakage with coughing and sneezing is a typical symptom experienced by postpartum people. Leakage can also happen with running, jumping or even on the way to the bathroom. That last one is called urge incontinence. But sometimes leakage happens unexpectedly, with no associated movement, no lifting… you’re just sitting there and some urine comes out.
One of the most common times folks leak unexpectedly is right after they’ve peed. This is called post micturition dribble.
Post micturition dribble literally means “after peeing dribble.” This is is when a little bit of urine gets stuck in the urethra and leaks out when you stand up and move around after you just peed. This can happen for a couple reasons:
You’re short on time
Muscle dysfunction
Let’s talk about timing first.
Imagine this: You’ve been needing to pee for an hour and you finally get a moment to rush to the bathroom. You only have a few minutes between meetings, your baby is crying for you or maybe you’re just generally stressed. Bladders don’t like to pee under pressure and that’s exactly what’s happening.
When you pee, the detrusor muscle around your bladder contracts while your pelvic floor muscles relax. If you’re peeing while stressed, your brain can send your body mixed signals messing with any part of this cycle. These mixed signals can allow urine to get trapped in the urethra, the pressure from your abdomen can push that little bit of pee out when you stand and move around. This usually happens within 5 minutes of voiding. That’s post micturition dribble in a nut shell.
But don’t fret - here are 4 simple tips to stop leaking after you pee:
Take deep, relaxing breaths while urinating. Give your body a chance to relax and fully empty.
Once you’re done, take a few extra seconds to lean backward, forward and side to side.
Do some horse lipped breathing when you think you’re done to get the last little bit out.
If appropriate, try a few pelvic floor muscle contractions when you’re done, to get the urine that’s stuck in the urethra. Do not do this until you’re done peeing.
Now let’s talk muscle dysfunction.
Another reason you might have post micturition dribble is pelvic floor tension or weakness.
Pelvic floor muscle tension can make it difficult to empty because these muscles constrict around your urethra. Imagine your urethra is a straw. If your pelvic floor muscles are tight, it’s like trying to let water flow through a pinched straw. It’s much harder for the straw to empty and a little might trickle out over time instead of all at once.
Now image the straw has flimsy walls, causing the straw to bend or kink. Imagine letting water flow through a kinked straw. It’s also more likely to get trapped until you move the straw around, causing some of the water to leak out later. Weakness in the pelvic floor can create the same kind of kink in the urethra, causing urine to get stuck and trickle out over time.
Both tension and weakness are common causes of post micturition dribble and if the tips above aren’t enough to get you completely dry, consider working with a pelvic floor physical therapist to help address any underlying pelvic floor muscle impairments and help keep you dry!
If you’re interested in seeing a physical therapist to address your urinary leakage (regardless of when it happens) call us at give us a call at 512-766-2649 or message us here to set up an appointment with one of our amazing pelvic floor physical therapists!
By Dr. Jessica Chastka, PT, DPT, WCS
Jessica (she/her) earned her Bachelor’s in Exercise Science from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, while playing softball. She received a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in August 2015. In 2019 she became Board Certified in Women’s Health, through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists.
For the last five years she has been working as a pelvic floor physical therapist, treating people who have pelvic pain, leakage, urgency, frequency and constipation. This includes the pregnant and postpartum population as well as people with chronic pain. She is passionate about making her patients feel heard and seen, validating those who feel that their problems are not worth mentioning because everyone has them or because embarrassed to talk about them.