Female Bladder Urgency: What’s Normal?

At Therapydia NOLA, our physical therapists address the unique musculoskeletal problems of the pelvic region to help and treat any functional limitations and also offer preventative services. As part of our Women’s Health Physical Therapy services, we field a lot of questions surrounding bathroom norms, urinary urgency and overactive bladders. Below are just a few things to remember when it comes to daily bathroom use:

When it comes to voiding, how many times should I be using the bathroom in a day?
Normally, you should use the restroom around 5-8 times per day.

How much water should I drink in a day?
To figure out how much fluid you should intake each day, take your body weight and divide that number by two. This amount of water in ounces that you should aim to intake each day.

For example: If you weigh 150 pounds: 150/2=75. You should be drinking at least 75 ounces of water per day.

For women, remember to always sit and to never push when voiding.
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles. Everything exits through here. We want these muscles to be relaxed in order to promote healthy habits.

Never “just in case” pee.
Everyone has a different tolerance within their bladders as far as how much it stretches. If you use the bathroom all the time throughout the day, this “just in case peeing” is teaching your bladder to tell you that you need to urinate when really you don’t need to.

For more about our Women’s Health Physical Therapy services, visit: Women’s Health Pelvic Floor Therapy