Incontinence

Have you ever just leaked a little when a friend made you laugh? What about leaking just a little bit when you have had a cold and coughing or sneezing? What about full-on peeing your pants and couldn’t control it? Or maybe even leaked a little urine without knowing it? Well, there is an answer and, no, it’s not just doing Kegels. 

Every year, 25 million Americans and 200 million people worldwide are affected by incontinence or involuntary loss of bladder and bowel control, aka peeing your pants. Up to 70% of women will experience leaking either during or after childbirth due to the stress on the pelvic floor muscles. Peeing your pants is very common, but it’s not normal. Both men and women, young and old, may experience some form of incontinence that can make them feel ashamed and isolated. 

Stress Urinary Incontinence

What is it?

Stress urinary incontinence, which is the most common, is the involuntary loss of urine while laughing, coughing, exercising, lifting of objects, or any movement that increases pressure on the sphincter of the bladder. This would be peeing your pants due to some activity and could be a small dribble to your entire underwear wet.

Cause

• weak pelvic floor muscles
• tight posterior pelvic floor muscles that are compensating for the weakness
• poor ligament support at the bladder outlet and urethra
• defect in the urethral tube itself. 

Urge Urinary Incontinence

What is it?

Urge urinary incontinence is urine leakage that occurs as soon as you get the urge to go to the bathroom. This is usually a strong urge to pee then peeing your pants before making it to the bathroom. The sensation is overwhelming, and your bladder muscle, the detrusor muscle, contracts or tightens at the wrong time, which relaxes the urinary sphincter allowing leaking to occur.

Cause

• Habitually going to the bathroom when you are not completely full
• Not urinating as much as you should
• Post-partum
• Pelvic Floor Weakness

Mixed Urinary Incontinence

Mixed urinary incontinence is when you have both stress and urge urinary incontinence.  You may pee your pants with coughing, sneezing, laughing, and with an intense urge to use the bathroom. 

Cause

• very weak pelvic floor muscles
• poor bladder habits
• poorly trained urinary system

Causes to Incontinence

• pelvic floor weakness
• bladder infections
• obesity
• pregnancy
• childbirth
• bladder cancer
• chronic illness or cough
• constipation/diarrhea
• damage to the anal sphincter or nerve innervating that area
• medications
• urinary tract abnormalities
• neuromuscular disorders
• gastrointestinal problems
• bladder stones
• STRESS
• caffeine
• cigarette smoking
• hormonal changes
• hysterectomy or other pelvic surgeries.

Oftentimes, doctors may dismiss you or you may be too ashamed to tell them what is going on.  However, the treatment can be very simple but important to look at more than your symptoms, but the cause. So as you can see, looking at the full picture of what is contributing to incontinence is important. 

Physical Therapy

As a Women’s Health Physical Therapist, these are things that I consider with every patient and most likely why my clients/patients are so successful. Yes, making sure the pelvic floor is strong is really important, but making sure the pelvic floor is balanced as well as figuring out the cause and the health of the individual physically and mentally is also very important. As a Women’s Health Practitioner, I understand the hormonal and physical changes that occur during a woman’s life span and how these can contribute to peeing your pants. I will be able to provide individualized treatment programs designed to work the best for your individual needs.

Treatment

There are many ways physical therapy can help you regain control over your bladder so you won’t continue to pee your pants. The focus of a physical therapy program in the treatment of incontinence is improving pelvic floor muscle strength and balance and retraining your bladder to how it is designed to function. When your pelvic floor muscles are well balanced and strong, you have better support for your bladder and pelvic areas and better ability to control bladder and bowel function. The program would include exercise to improve the balance and strength of the pelvic floor, education, retraining bladder habits, retraining the bladder, dietary modifications, instruction on posture, and how the rest of the body can affect the pelvic floor, biofeedback, and manual therapy.

Leaking is Common but not Normal!

You don’t have to live with leaking and peeing your pants anymore!! Also, you don’t have to live with wearing a panty liner every day and looking out for where the bathrooms are every time you go somewhere new! Lastly, you don’t have to be nervous about being in a social setting and nervous you are going to laugh and pee your pants. I can help you! 

Where Can I Sign up?

To learn more about the pelvic floor and how discovering the proper balance can help get rid of incontinence, set up your free consultation visit now!  www.thepelvicfloorplace.com. On our website, you will find resources for prenatal care https://thepelvicfloorplace.com/prenatal-physical-therapy/, post-partum care https://thepelvicfloorplace.com/postpartum-physical-therapy/ and general pelvic floor rehab https://thepelvicfloorplace.com/pelvic-floor-physical-therapy/.