Most women who have had children feel some type of way about jump roping, or double unders in the world of CrossFit. For that matter, many women, regardless of childbirth feel this way. Stress incontinence or even just urgency can be very common for women doing high impact exercises, particularly jump rope. But this by no means means that it is normal.
There can be a wide variety of why women feel this way and solutions to help mitigate the issues. Women shouldn’t have to just deal with it. On one end of the spectrum, it can be as simple as a full bladder. On the other side of the spectrum, a woman can have a severe prolapse. In between, you could be pregnant or postpartum and have higher levels of Relaxin as well as additional pressure on your bladder or a slightly displaced bladder. For all women, childbirth aside, you also could have either a weak pelvic floor or an overly contracted and consequently strained and fatigued pelvic floor.
So, what can you do about it, other then live with it? Some exercises apply to any of the stages/scenarios above, but some are specific to the type of issue you are having. For all, general improved overall body strengthening will help. In particular, a focus on glute, back, and core strengthening, as these all will help support your pelvic floor.
If you are dealing with prolapse, you want to be sure to first see a Pelvic Floor PT and learn more about the strength and relaxation of your pelvic floor and surrounding supporting musculature. You also, will want to fully understand proper breathing and core and pelvic floor engagement before you start strength training.
If your issue is more along the lines of an over-contracted pelvic floor, proper breathing is going to be your first and primary step. Think about it in terms of a balloon that is constantly stretched. One more big exertion against that balloon and it just might not make it. It’s tired and over-stretched. If you let air out, then it can handle a little more pressure. Similarly, if you learn how to relax your pelvic floor muscles, they can then begin to contract and relax appropriately instead of always being contracted. To learn proper breathing, it can be easiest to lie on your back. Place your hands on your lower belly and focus on breathing into your hands. Then focus on fully exhaling without bearing down. Do this a few times, several times a day. Then while you are actively jumping rope, you do want to contract your pelvic floor and with a now appropriately relaxed floor, you should be able to engage these muscles. What you do not want to do is hold your breath or bear down while you are jumping.
While it can be hard to step back from an exercise, if you find your pelvic floor tiring out on you part way through or you can’t stop yourself from bearing down, that is sign your body is not ready yet. Take a break from, in this case, jump rope, and focus on building up the surrounding muscles and endurance and come back to it again in a few weeks. Don’t let common symptoms trick you into thinking they are normal.