Fellowship-Trained Urogynecologist
Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
Green Bay, Wisconsin
✓ Medically reviewed March 2026
Bladder leakage during exercise
Running, jumping, HIIT, dance fitness, tennis — if any of these trigger bladder leakage, you’re far from alone. Exercise-related leaking is one of the most common pelvic floor problems, and one of the most fixable. The answer is never to stop exercising. It’s to get your pelvic floor where it needs to be.
Why it happens
Exercise-related leaking is almost always stress incontinence — your pelvic floor can’t fully resist the spikes in abdominal pressure that come with impact and exertion. The activities that cause the most trouble:
- Running and jogging — repetitive impact
- Jumping (box jumps, jump rope, double-unders) — high-force impact
- HIIT and CrossFit — combination of impact and exertion
- Aerobics and dance fitness — jumping and bouncing movements
- Tennis and pickleball — sudden directional changes with impact
“Exercise-related leaking is a mismatch between the demands of the activity and the capacity of the pelvic floor. The fix is increasing the pelvic floor’s capacity — not decreasing the demand.”
Signs you should get help
- Any leaking during exercise, even if it’s “just a few drops”
- Wearing pads, dark clothing, or extra layers during workouts
- Avoiding certain exercises or movements
- Cutting back on intensity or skipping workouts because of leaking
Treatment options
- Sport-specific pelvic floor training — learning to activate your pelvic floor during dynamic movements
- Breathing coordination — exhaling on exertion to engage the pelvic floor at the right moment
- Graduated return — building back to high-impact activities as pelvic floor strength improves
- Pessary — a support device that can be worn during exercise
- Specialist evaluation — if therapy isn’t enough, a urogynecologist can discuss additional options
We have pelvic floor physical therapists in our office, and we work closely with dozens more throughout northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Between physical therapy and our other treatment options, we can almost always get you back to exercising without leakage.
“I get it — you love your workout and you don’t want to give it up. You shouldn’t have to. Let’s fix the problem instead of avoiding it.”
Next step
Don’t let leakage take exercise away from you. Whether you start with pelvic floor therapy or come in for an evaluation, we can figure out the right plan to get you back to full activity.
Schedule Your Appointment
Dr. Stewart understands the unique challenges you're facing and is here to help.
- No referral necessary
- Now accepting new patients
- In-person and virtual appointments available
- Most insurance plans accepted