Imagine a life free of pads or running to the bathroom.
Approximately 13 million people suffer with incontinence, including women, men and children. There are two types, urinary and fecal.
What is urinary incontinence?
There are five types of urinary incontinence, or the loss of bladder control:
- Stress incontinence. Urine leaks when you exert pressure on your bladder by coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising or lifting something heavy.
- Urge incontinence. You have a sudden, intense urge to urinate followed by an involuntary loss of urine. You may need to urinate often, including throughout the night. This may be caused by a minor condition, such as infection, or a more-severe condition such as a neurologic disorder or diabetes.
- Overflow incontinence. You experience frequent or constant dribbling of urine due to a bladder that doesn’t empty completely.
- Functional incontinence. A physical or mental impairment keeps you from making it to the toilet in time. For example, if you have severe arthritis, you may not be able to unbutton your pants quickly enough.
- Mixed incontinence. You experience more than one type of urinary incontinence.
Some foods and medications act as diuretics and should be avoided, including alcohol, caffeine, carbonated drinks, chocolate, artificial sweeteners, foods high in spice, sugar or acid, heart and blood pressure medications, sedatives, muscle relaxants and large does of vitamin C.
Physical therapy can help tremendously using specific exercises targeted to either stretch or to strengthen the pelvic floor as needed, bladder training, biofeedback and using a bladder and food diary.
What is fecal incontinence?
Fecal incontinence is the inability to control bowel movements, causing stool to leak unexpectedly from the rectum. It ranges from an occasional leakage of stool while passing gas to a complete loss of bowel control.
- Urge incontinence. It comes on so suddenly that you don’t make it to the toilet in time.
- Passive incontinence. You are not aware of the need to pass stool.
Causes can include: muscle damage, nerve damage, constipation, diarrhea, loss of storage capacity in the rectum, surgery, rectal prolapse and rectocele in women.
How can physical therapists help with incontinence?
Treatment depends on the cause of the incontinence. Our therapist is skilled in treatments that can improve anal sphincter control and the awareness of the urge to defecate. Other options can include: biofeedback, bowel training, sacral nerve stimulation, and a vaginal balloon.
Our Pelvic Floor Therapist utilizes a holistic approach and is available to work with you on any issues and help you regain control, regain a social life and get adequate sleep.
Call now to find out more and how you can transform your life.