Urinary Incontinence

Bladder Control Problems:

Conditions that cause leakage and loss of control are called incontinence. Medical treatment models suggest that pelvic floor exercise and habit changes can improve this condition in up to 80% of these conditions in women and men. Most people are not familiar with these techniques which are commonly referred to as behavioral techniques for incontinence. If these techniques don't work for you, medication or surgery can be an option. Bladder Incontinence has several definitions:

  • Urge incontinence is urine leakage with a strong desire to empty usually at an inappropriate time.

  • Stress incontinence is to urine leakage with physical exertion, sexual activity or while coughing, sneezing or laughing.

  • Overactive Bladder is urgency and frequency of urination with greater than 8-9 visits to the toilet in 24 hours with or without leakage of urine.

For more information on incontinence go to http://www.nafc.org/ 

We will assess your needs for an exercise program or more extensive rehabilitation using equipment to enhance and train better muscles. We use a variety of equipment including biofeedback, vaginal weights, pelvic floor electrical stimulation or pelvic floor educators. It usually takes between 4-10 visits over several months to see changes.

Exercise and Bladder Incontinence:

Many women don't stop running because of aging joints or injury. Instead they stop because the muscles of their pelvic floor are so weak that they leak urine every time they take a step. Exercise incontinence is a very common problem that women discover usually as teens in high impact sports like gymnastics, after childbirth or later as they approach menopause. Frequently leaking occurs when beginning an exercise program or starting to train for an exercise event like a triathlon or chasing your children.

The impact of exercise on the pelvic floor muscles varies from woman to woman. Some have a weaker pelvic floor than others due to childbirth, surgical trauma or simply lack of use.

Incontinence Treatment:

Physical Therapy involves an evaluation of your pelvic floor muscle strength and bladder/ bowel habits. We will establish a treatment program based on the evaluation findings. You will learn proper habits and techniques to control urgency and/or leakage and gain an understanding of normal bladder and bowel functions.

We will assess your needs for an exercise program or more extensive rehabilitation using equipment to enhance and train better muscles. We use a variety of equipment including biofeedback, vaginal weights, pelvic floor electrical stimulation or pelvic floor educators. It usually takes between 4-10 visits over several months to see changes.

Bowel Dysfunctions

Bowel Control Problems:

The inability to control gas or a bowel movement is called anal or fecal incontinence. More than 5.5 million Americans have fecal incontinence. It affects people of all ages--children as well as adults. Incontinence occurs either when you feel the urge to have a bowel movement and are unable to hold it until you can get to a toilet or when stool may leaks from the rectum unexpectedly. For more information on fecal incontinence go to www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/fecalincontinence/ orwww.emedicine.com/med/topic3326.htm

Incontinence Treatment:

Physical Therapy involves an evaluation of your pelvic floor muscle strength and bladder/ bowel habits. We will establish a treatment program based on the evaluation findings. You will learn proper habits and techniques to control urgency and/or leakage and gain an understanding of normal bladder and bowel functions.

We will assess your needs for an exercise program or more extensive rehabilitation using equipment to enhance and train better muscles. We use a variety of equipment including biofeedback, vaginal weights, pelvic floor electrical stimulation or pelvic floor educators. It usually takes between 4-10 visits over several months to see changes.

Constipation

Constipation refers to the inability to evacuate the bowel on a normal schedule without excessive straining. Medical evaluation can help determine the primary cause of constipation. In some cases the problem is associated with tight or incoordinated pelvic floor muscles or habits and behaviors that require education. Physical therapy with biofeedback can train the muscles to relax appropriately and work more efficiently.  A comprehensive physical therapy evaluation will define what your specific treatment goals will be. Here is an excellent summary of physical therapy treatment of constipation.