Do you finish urinating but still feel like there is more left in your bladder? Double voiding is a simple technique that involves urinating, waiting briefly, and trying again. It may help some people empty more completely, but persistent difficulty emptying the bladder should be evaluated because urinary retention can have several different causes.
Updated August 24, 2026
Author: Dr. Fatima Khan
Double voiding means trying to urinate a second time shortly after you finish the first time.
The goal is to give the bladder another opportunity to empty urine that may remain after the initial void. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) lists double voiding as one bladder-training technique that healthcare professionals may recommend for urinary retention. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
It does not require straining or forcing urine out. In fact, relaxing and allowing enough time to empty is an important part of the technique.
Double voiding may be useful when you regularly feel that your bladder has not emptied completely.
Possible signs of incomplete emptying include:
These symptoms can occur with chronic urinary retention, but they can also have other causes. Some people with significant retention have surprisingly few symptoms, so the sensation of being empty is not always a reliable measure. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Double voiding should be relaxed rather than forceful.
NIDDK specifically recommends sitting rather than hovering because hovering can prevent the muscles around the bladder and pelvic floor from relaxing fully. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
Incomplete bladder emptying is not one single condition. Urinary retention can occur because something partially blocks urine flow or because the bladder cannot generate enough force to empty effectively. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Possible causes in women include:
This is why persistent incomplete emptying should not simply be assumed to come from a “weak pelvic floor.” Sometimes the opposite problem — a pelvic floor that does not relax adequately — contributes to difficulty urinating. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Urinary retention and urinary incontinence are different problems, even though they can sometimes occur together.
Someone with stress urinary incontinence may empty her bladder normally but leak when she coughs, sneezes, laughs, exercises, or lifts.
Someone with urinary retention may struggle to start urinating, have a weak stream, finish with urine still in the bladder, or need to urinate again shortly afterward.
Retention can occasionally cause overflow incontinence, where an overly full bladder leaks without the typical stress or urgency trigger. Chronic urinary retention can therefore sometimes look like an incontinence problem. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
Yes. Significant residual urine can be associated with recurrent urinary tract infections because urine remaining in the bladder can create conditions that allow bacteria to persist.
However, double voiding should not be presented as a proven way to “prevent UTIs” in everyone.
If you repeatedly develop UTIs and also feel that you are not emptying completely, your healthcare professional may measure your post-void residual, or PVR. This measures how much urine remains in the bladder after you urinate and can help determine whether retention is actually present. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
Double voiding is a management technique, not a treatment for every cause of urinary retention.
Talk with a healthcare professional if you regularly:
A healthcare professional can measure post-void residual urine and determine whether further testing is needed.
If you suddenly cannot urinate at all, especially with significant lower abdominal pain or swelling, seek medical attention promptly. Acute urinary retention requires medical treatment and may require catheter drainage. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
The pelvic floor has two jobs that can seem contradictory: it must provide support and help maintain continence when you are holding urine, but it also needs to relax appropriately when you urinate.
That distinction is important.
Weak pelvic floor muscles can contribute to urinary leakage, particularly stress urinary incontinence. But difficulty emptying the bladder may occur when pelvic floor muscles are too tight or fail to relax and coordinate properly during urination.
This is why automatically doing more Kegels is not always the right answer for someone whose main symptom is urinary retention.
A pelvic floor physical therapist can evaluate whether the muscles are weak, tight, poorly coordinated, or a combination and recommend treatment accordingly.
Elitone should not be used as a treatment for urinary retention or incomplete bladder emptying.
Elitone is an FDA-cleared external treatment for urinary incontinence. It uses neuromuscular electrical stimulation to contract and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles involved in bladder and urethral support.
That makes Elitone relevant when weak pelvic floor support is causing stress or mixed urinary incontinence, such as leakage during coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting, or exercise.
It is a different problem from being unable to empty the bladder.
If you have both leakage and a persistent sensation of incomplete emptying, it is important to determine why the bladder is not emptying before beginning a strengthening program. Difficulty emptying can occur when pelvic floor muscles are overly tight or poorly coordinated, and stronger contractions are not necessarily the appropriate treatment.
Once urinary retention has been ruled out or appropriately managed, Elitone can provide a noninvasive at-home option for treating accompanying stress or mixed incontinence without relying on correctly performing Kegels yourself.
Double voiding means urinating normally, waiting briefly while staying relaxed, and then trying to urinate again. The goal is to help empty urine that may remain after the first void.
You generally only need to wait a short time. The important part is allowing the pelvic floor and urinary sphincter to relax rather than straining to force out more urine.
Generally, no. Repeated straining is not the goal of double voiding. Sit comfortably, relax, allow urine to flow naturally, pause, and then try again.
Incomplete bladder emptying is one possibility, but urinary urgency, bladder irritation, urinary tract infection, pelvic floor dysfunction, or other conditions can produce a similar sensation. Persistent symptoms should be evaluated.
Incomplete bladder emptying can be associated with recurrent UTIs, so improving emptying may be useful when residual urine is part of the problem. However, double voiding should not be considered a general UTI-prevention technique for everyone.
Not necessarily. Overactive bladder involves urgency and frequency and does not automatically mean the bladder is failing to empty. Double voiding is primarily used when incomplete emptying is suspected or documented.
Bladder emptying is more complex than pelvic floor strength alone. Tight or poorly relaxing pelvic floor muscles can interfere with emptying, while weak muscles are more commonly associated with urinary leakage. An evaluation can help identify which problem is present.
If you double void because of diagnosed or suspected urinary retention, that problem should be evaluated before starting pelvic floor strengthening. Elitone treats urinary incontinence; it is not a treatment for urinary retention or incomplete bladder emptying.
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