BOWEL AND BLADDER

BOWEL AND BLADDER TREATMENT

INCONTINENCE

Studies show that as many as 50% of people experience incontinence at some point in their lives. While urinary incontinence is what gets discussed most commonly, both urinary and fecal incontinence can result from pelvic floor dysfunction.

The two primary types of incontinence are stress incontinence, and urge incontinence. Stress incontinence occurs when things like sneezing, coughing, running, and jumping result in leakage. Urge incontinence occurs when one experiences strong urges and cannot make it to the bathroom in time.

While common conception tells us to just “do your kegels” this information is quite inaccurate. Incontinence stems from dysfunction of the pelvic floor muscles, but that does not always mean weakness. Pelvic floor muscles can be weak, stretched out, tight, overworked, or any combination of those. In fact a study by Bump et al showed that when asked to perform a pelvic floor contraction, 40% of women were unable to do so effectively, and 25% showed an effort that actually increases incontinence.

Signs of urinary dysfunction:

hesitancy, slow stream, straining, spraying, incomplete emptying, immediate re-void, post void leak, position dependent, pain, retention.

Even with high impact exercise, incontinence is not normal. One questionnaire revealed that 47% of exercising women experienced urinary incontinence (Nygaard et al, 1990). This should never be accepted as normal regardless of the number of pregnancies a woman has had or the intensity of exercise she is performing.

Evaluation by a pelvic floor physical therapist will help determine the cause of incontinence and address the musculature involvement as well as any dietary or lifestyle factors that may be contributing. With an approach addressing all contributing factors, incontinence can resolve completely with physical therapy.

CONSTIPATION

Constipation can result from a variety of factors including dietary components, bowel motility issues, and poor coordination of pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor PT can assist in improving pelvic floor coordination, educating on mechanics and positioning for optimal bowel health, and addressing dietary contributions.

Believe it or not, there is a proper way to poop!