2/3 of women will experience bladder leakage at some point in their lifetime. While this is common, it is not NORMAL and is often preventable without medication or surgery.
Bladder leakage (referred to as urinary incontinence) is one of the biggest signs that your pelvic floor is not functioning properly.
Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles in your pelvis that controls the bladder, bowels, and supports the uterus
In most cases, incorporating a pelvic floor strengthening program, to strengthen the muscles that support and control the bladder, will improve or complete resolve bladder leakage.
There are cases when bladder control leakage is a result of an overactive pelvic floor, which is why coming in for an evaluation is so important. If you have overactive pelvic floor muscles, a strengthening program can actually make leakage worse.
What type of incontinence do you have?
- Stress incontinence: This occurs when the additional stresses or pressure causes urinary leakage. Can happen with:
- laughing
- sneezing
- jumping
- running
- heavy lifting
- Urge incontinence: This occurs when you have a sudden urge to urinate, often resulting in loss of urine. This happens when the bladder contracts or spasms when it shouldn’t causing leakage. This condition is also referred to as overactive bladder. Symptoms of urge incontinence include:
- Just can’t make it to the bathroom without a little leaking
- There are certain “triggers” that make you have to go really bad, like turning your key in the front door
- You have to frequently get up at night to go urinate
- You have sudden very strong urges to urinate
How do you fix it?
First you’ll need an evaluation to assess the pelvic floor muscles, and your ability to regulate your abdominal pressure. This is performed in office, and only takes a few minutes.
We then craft a treatment plan, specifically tailored to your needs. It often includes simple strengthening and/or stretching exercises, to be performed daily, that just take a few minutes at a time.
We track your progress overtime to make sure you are improving as expected.
Generally speaking, the average case of urinary incontinence can be resolved in about 2-3 visits, sometimes less, but we let you know what you can expect specifically once you have had your evaluation.
Ready to schedule an appointment, and throw away the Poise pads or Depends?
You can book online, or contact us at 682-231-1607. Please leave us a voicemail with your name and number.
Still have more questions?
Please feel free to reach out via email at amanda@healtandhealingpt.com or text/call at 682-231-1607. You can speak directly with a provider, to learn how physical therapy can help you.