Urinary Incontinence has been labeled a hidden misery. It affects more than 1 in 4 women at one stage in their life and is 4 times more common post partum and then again post menopause.
What is Urinary Incontinence?
Urinary Incontinence is the loss of control over one’s bladder and/or bowel, resulting in leakage of urine. It not a disease but a symptom of something else that maybe going wrong, or not working quite right in the body.
There are many things that can contribute to having incontinence, and there can be a combination of factors causing it.
Common types of Urinary Incontinence
Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) – will leak on coughing sneezing, sport of heavy objects
Urge Urinary Incontinence (UUI) – urge to go and then cant control it and will not be able to make it to the toilet in time
(You are more likely to have nocturia in the above cases up to 3 times per night)
Voiding dysfunction/ Emptying Strain – to begin and sometimes dribble post emptying this happens more commonly with patients with prolapse of the bladder or previous histories of incontinence
Treatment/Management
– The treatment and management of Urinary Incontinence will depend on which incontinence you have, the severity of it and what is causing it.
– Treating the pelvic floor in stress and urge incontinence cases can decrease the symptoms by almost half and improve stream and flow and most importantly flow.
– Knowing how to correctly contract your pelvic floor and lower abdominal muscle is half the problem!! More than 50 % of women incorrectly know how to located their pelvic floor and then know how to use it!!
Osteopathy uses a range of conservative techniques to identify what control you have of your pelvic floor and then where improvements can be made. Your practitioner can take you through simple exercises to use during everyday activities to help improve your over all symptoms.
If you suffer from Urinary Incontinence or have any problems with leakage, it is always best to discuss your options with your healthcare team.
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This post was written by Dr Deanna Cooper.
Deanna is currently studying a Masters in Women’s Health Medicine with a focus on pregnancy, prenatal and post natal care and fertility.
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