What is Urinary Incontinence?
Incontinence is defined as the inability to retain urine or feces through
loss of sphincter control. There are various types and causes of
incontinence which affects both men and women of all ages. This condition
can be very life-limiting and embarrassing, yet many sufferers never seek
professional medical treatment.
Urinary incontinence can typically occur when an
individual laughs, sneezes, exercises, participates in sexual intercourse or
participates in other physical activities. Urinary incontinence can also
result if one experiences a sudden urgency to urinate and can not control
the bladder for more than a few minutes.
Often times the pelvic floor
muscles that support the bladder, vagina, and rectum are affected.
When this group of muscles becomes affected or are weak (often from lack of
use, pelvic surgery or childbirth) conditions such as urinary or fecal
incontinence, urinary urgency or frequency and uterine prolapse (dropping)
may develop. If the pelvic floor becomes tense, conditions such as pelvic
pain, urinary hesitancy or incomplete bladder emptying may develop as well.
Persistent
pain in the lower abdominal and pelvic areas often can be accompanied with
low back pain as well. Pelvic pain may vary at times, but many people suffer
with this chronic pain for many years. A large population affected by
urinary incontinence are child-bearing females. During pregnancy and after
childbirth, a woman’s pelvis and low back is constantly being strained. The
stress of childbearing on a woman’s lower body can cause permanent problems
with her internal organs and joint structures. Structurally, the pelvis
houses the bladder, uterus & rectum. Muscles and tissues surround the organs
and act as a “hammock” for the organs to rest on. Because the pelvis and the
soft tissues surrounding the area all have to stretch to allow for
childbirth, this can result in disruption to those internal organs. This is
a leading cause of incontinence. Many women believe this to be just a
typical side effect of having children, or think that incontinence is a
natural part of aging. Incontinence is not a “normal” condition and can be
treated with Physical Therapy. (picture ©
Pauline Voss.
BigStockPhoto.com)
Physical therapists can
perform and utilize various resources to treat incontinence and pelvic pain,
including the prescription of exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor
muscles. These pelvic floor exercises are commonly referred to as “Kegel
exercises”. With Kegel exercises, patients are told to imagine to stop the
urine stream, to squeeze the vagina, or to hold back gas. Kegel exercises
are NOT to be performed during the act of urination, as this may effect the
quality of the urinary stream. Kegels may be done in a variety of positions
including lying, sitting and standing. To obtain a handout from
www.femalepatient.com
on how to perform Kegel exercises click here:
Kegel Exercise Handout. If you believe you may have
incontinence, pelvic pain or a disorder of the pelvic floor, please consult
your urologist or gynecologist for proper treatment recommendations
including physical therapy.
Last revised: June 6, 2008
by Jennifer Hill, MPT, CSCS
