How Physical Therapy Can Help Incontinence

The good news is that at Therapy Fit, our therapists are experts at treating the different types of incontinence and can help you resolve this issue once and for all! 

Urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control. The two most common types of urinary incontinence are stress incontinence and urge incontinence (aka overactive bladder).

Although more women than men are affected, men can also have urinary incontinence after prostate surgery. Urinary incontinence has a reputation for being a problem that only people of the older population experience, but many young people get urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence is not a normal part of aging, and it can be treated.

At Therapy Fit, our physical therapists can help identify the source of your problem and provide the guidance you need to resolve the incontinence.

Primary Causes of Urinary Incontinence

Mild to moderate cases of common incontinence can be cured or greatly improved by behavioral or exercise therapy. There are many potential causes of urinary incontinence, including:

• Weakened bladder muscles resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, obesity, and aging
• Physical damage to your pelvic floor muscles from childbirth or surgery
• Damage to the nerves from delivery and health problems like diabetes and multiple sclerosis
• Enlarged prostate
• Types of cancer

Some types of urinary incontinence happen due to other reasons, like:

• Medication. Urinary incontinence may be a side effect of medicines such as diuretics. 
• Caffeine. Caffeinated drinks may cause the bladder to fill quickly, leading to accidental leaking. 
• Infection. Urinary tract infections and bladder infections may cause incontinence.

Regardless of the causes, we have solutions that work for the different types of incontinence.

The Different Types of Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence is any undesired leakage of urine and involves the pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles attach to the bottom of the pelvic bones and form a supportive “hammock structure” that supports the internal organs.

The different types of incontinence include: 

• Stress incontinence: This occurs when intra-abdominal pressure increases during physical activity (i.e., playing a sport, laughing, or sneezing).
• Urge incontinence: This accidental leakage occurs with a sudden, strong need to urinate before reaching the bathroom.
• Mixed incontinence: A combination of both stress and urge incontinence.
• Functional incontinence: People experience accidental leaking on the way to the bathroom, even without an intense urge to urinate. 
• Urinary frequency: Some people feel the need to empty their bladder frequently throughout the day and night.

Incontinence affects twice as many women as men due to pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. Fortunately, there are many treatments for urinary incontinence.

How a Physical Therapist Treats Urinary Incontinence

If you come to see our physical therapists for urinary incontinence, we will take you through a thorough physical examination and comprehensive patient history. 

Your physical therapist can then develop a customized treatment plan to relieve your symptoms and address the suspected underlying causes to prevent recurring dysfunction based on the examination results.

Some of the common physical therapy treatments may include: 

• Soft tissue mobilization and massage of internal and external pelvic musculature to relieve muscle tension and provide pain relief.
• Spinal and sacroiliac joint manipulations reset the neurological pathway, relieve pain, and restore normal spinal alignment.
• Electrical stimulation modalities can provide pain relief and restore normal neuromuscular activation of pelvic floor muscles and nerves.
• Therapeutic exercises to restore the normal strength and endurance of stabilizing pelvic floor muscles and muscles in the low back and hips.

The research has shown that pelvic floor muscle training should be the first-line treatment for the management of urinary incontinence. No matter the type of incontinence, we can help. Our physical therapists are highly skilled in evaluating and treating various musculoskeletal and neurological conditions affecting the pelvic floor and bladder function. We will use whatever strategy we can to help you resolve your incontinence and get back to living worry-free!