Bladder Training: Your Guide to Better Bladder Control

Are frequent bathroom trips or unexpected leaks disrupting your daily life? You're not alone. Bladder training is a powerful, practical approach to help you regain control and confidence in your body's natural functions.

When we think about training our bodies, we think about strengthening and stretching our arms, legs, and core. But did you know you can train your bladder, too? Although it’s not exactly something you do at the gym, bladder training (also commonly referred to as bladder retraining) can help you improve your bladder health — especially if you deal with struggles like frequent urination or incontinence. 

What is bladder training?

“Bladder training can look different for different people, but in general, what we're trying to do is help get the bladder working in a more healthy way,” said Liz Miracle PT, MPT, WCS, Head of Clinical Quality & Education at Origin. 

In most cases of bladder training, the bladder is too sensitive. According to Miracle, the bladder is very sensitive to the fact there’s urine in it. You might feel a strong urge to urinate even though there isn’t a lot of pee in your bladder. 

In other cases, Miracle said a provider might recommend bladder training if your bladder isn’t sensitive enough and they should actually be going to the bathroom more frequently. It’s always on a case-by-case basis, and a healthcare provider can help you determine the best action plan.

Ultimately, bladder training is like a workout for your bladder, either helping it stretch to hold more urine and become less sensitive, or teaching it to hold less urine. But your bladder doesn’t do this job alone. Training also involves training your pelvic floor muscles for better control over bladder functions. And it’s just as important to learn to calm your nervous system, which plays a big role in bladder urgency. By addressing all three — bladder function, pelvic floor function, and nervous system regulation — you can take back control and stop feeling like you need a bathroom on every corner.

Who can benefit from bladder training?

Many people can benefit from bladder training, including those with the following struggles:

• Urge incontinence: If you have urge incontinence, you experience strong, sudden urges to pee. You might also experience leaks, especially on your way to the bathroom. Bladder training can help you have less intense urges and fewer leaks. 
• Overactive bladder (OAB): When you have overactive bladder, you urinate eight or more times a day. The frequent urination is often accompanied by strong, sudden urges to pee and/or bladder leaks. Bladder training will help you pee less frequently throughout the day and reduce strong urges.

Urinary retention: Urinary retention is when you cannot empty your bladder properly. Although acute urinary retention (when you can’t pee all of a sudden) may be a medical emergency that needs to be addressed ASAP, chronic urinary retention is longer-lasting. Depending on the cause, bladder training can help (although it won’t necessarily address the underlying cause).

How do you train your bladder?

Ideally, a medical professional, such as a pelvic floor physical therapist, will go over specific directions for how to train your bladder. However, here are some general guidelines for bladder training.

1. Keep a bladder diary

Keeping a bladder diary is crucial for gaining a better understanding of your bathroom habits. Miracle said she advises her patients to keep a detailed diary for a 24-hour period. In this diary, you should include:

• The exact times you woke up and went to bed
• The exact times that you went to the bathroom (both peeing and bowel movements)
• The amount of urine that comes out each time you pee (was it a little, a moderate amount, or a lot?)
• Any times you experienced urine leakage and how much leaked
• Everything you ate and drank (and at what times)
• Any behaviors linked to urinary urges (like putting your key in the front door or getting into bed for the night)

After keeping a diary, you and your provider can review your findings for any clear links. This can help identify potential triggers and give a general overview of how often you use the bathroom. From here, you have a baseline from which you can identify patterns and track progress. 

Diary guidelines may vary depending on the provider. Some providers might ask you to keep a diary for longer, but it depends. You’re also free to keep a diary on your own if you’d like to identify more potential patterns or triggers. 

2. Pee at regular intervals

Your provider will likely recommend going to the bathroom at regular intervals. Based on your symptoms and your bladder diary, they’ll let you know what these intervals should be. For example, if they say the interval should be 1 hour to start, you’ll pee when you first wake up and then every hour from there on, even if you don’t think you need to go. 

3. Gradually increase time between bathroom visits

Ultimately, the goal is to increase the time between these regular intervals. You’ll also want to increase the amount of time between feeling the urge to pee and actually going to the bathroom.

You want to do this slowly and steadily. Miracle suggested starting small, increasing by just a few minutes. So, if you feel the urge to urinate, tell yourself you will wait 5 minutes before going to the bathroom. During this intentional delay, engage in urge suppression techniques. Miracle said some examples of this are:

• Deep breathing
• Quick pelvic floor contractions
• Distracting yourself

Tips for bladder health

Eventually, you’ll be able to reach your ultimate goal. Miracle said that for many people, the goal is to be able to wait (comfortably) 3 to 4 hours between trips to the bathroom. This is generally considered a “normal” urinary frequency. Here are a few tips that may help you feel more successful during training.

1. Be mindful of your fluid intake

While monitoring how much you pee, it’s important to be mindful of how much liquid you consume because you don’t want to drink too little or too much. If you drink too little, your urine will be more concentrated, making it more likely to irritate your bladder and provoke your urgency. Of course, if you drink too much, you’ll also have to pee more frequently. 

This is why it’s important to strike a balance. Your provider can help determine a plan for you, but a general rule of thumb is drinking enough so you’re not thirsty and your lips aren’t dry, which is typically about 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day, Miracle said. 

2. Avoid bladder irritants

Certain drinks (and some foods) can irritate your bladder and contribute to strong urges and frequency. Caffeinated beverages (like coffee and tea) and carbonated beverages (like sparkling water or other sodas) are two major categories of bladder irritants, Miracle said. Alcohol is also a notorious diuretic, meaning it’ll cause your body to make more pee.

As for foods that can irritate your bladder, you may want to consider limiting or avoiding:

• Spicy foods
• Citrus fruits 
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Fruit that’s high in water content

However, everyone’s different and it’s possible these foods won’t have a big impact on your bladder. 

3. Stop "just in base" bathroom visits

Many people get in the habit of peeing “just in case,” like before leaving the house to drive somewhere — even if they don’t fully feel the urge to urinate. However, this habit isn’t good for your bladder health. It can train your bladder to think that you should pee even if there’s only a little bit of urine in it. 

If this sounds like a habit you may have, it’s time to quit it, as it can also interfere with your bladder training schedule. 

How long does bladder training take?

The exact time it’ll take to see a major difference varies from person to person. Generally speaking, Miracle said you can expect to see a significant difference within 6 to 12 weeks. This timeline depends on how strictly you adhere to the interval bladder training schedule and how slowly you increase the time between intervals. 

Hang in there and be patient –– the results will be worth it.   

How Origin can help

Whether you’re struggling with urge incontinence, overactive bladder, urinary retention, or any other type of bladder challenge, pelvic floor physical therapy is a key aspect of treatment. 

On top of helping you develop a bladder training program, a pelvic floor physical therapist can assess your pelvic floor muscles, determining if they’re too tight or weak and if they’re also playing a role in your symptoms. From here, your physical therapist can teach you useful bladder training exercises and stretches to improve your symptoms.

If you’re looking for compassionate and experienced pelvic floor physical therapists, Origin can help you finally get control over your bladder health — book an appointment today.