There are a lot of factors that can lead to incontinence in both men and women including history of childbirth, abdominal weakness, diabetes, prostate problems, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, and more. Physical therapy can help with proper diagnosis and treatment of incontinence and other bowel or bladder issues.
What causes incontinence?
Incontinence affects women twice as much as men, but overactive bladder, bladder leakage, and related issues can happen to anyone. The most common cause of incontinence is trauma to pelvic floor muscles. For women, this can occur during pregnancy or after childbirth. Men are more likely to develop incontinence if they’ve had their prostate removed due to prostate cancer.
There are several kinds of incontinence:
- Stress incontinence – leakage of urine that is preceded by increased pressure in your abdomen, such as a cough or a sneeze, lifting something heavy, jumping, or other physical activity.
- Urge incontinence – leakage of urine due to a muscle spasm or dysfunction in your bladder that causes a strong, sudden urge to urinate.
- Mixed incontinence – when you leak from both pressure and urge, you have mixed urinary incontinence. Women are especially likely to have a mix of bladder control problems.
Two other common bladder issues may not seem like bigger health problems, but are:
- Urinary urgency – a strong, sudden urge to use the bathroom without any warning beforehand and without leakage.
- Frequent urination – If you wake up more than once a night to urinate or urinate more often than every two hours during the day, that is high frequency and could be improved with pelvic floor physical therapy.
How can physical therapy help incontinence?
Physical therapy treatment for urinary incontinence and other bowel or bladder issues can include:
- Behavior modification education
- Bowel or bladder retraining exercises
- Pelvic floor exercises, such as Kegels
- Electrical stimulation to improve muscle activation and strength
- Core, hip and pelvis strengthening and mobility activities
- Tips for improved toileting posture
In 95% of cases, pelvic floor physical therapy has made a difference in the lives of people dealing with incontinence or other bladder issues. If you or someone you know suffers from incontinence or bowel or bladder issues, schedule with our pelvic floor physical therapy specialists online or by calling 515.875.9706.