Women's Health

What can physical therapy do for urinary incontinence?

Urinary leakage or incontinence occurs in both men and women, however more frequently in women. Urinary leakage is a common problem in the United States. It most frequently occurs in women after childbirth and in women over 60 years old, but is not limited to this population. There are two types of urinary incontinence, urge and stress. Urge incontinence occurs when you feel as if you need to empty your bladder, however you are unable to get to the restroom in time and have leakage on the way. Stress incontinence is described as being unable to hold back the flow of urine when you cough or sneeze. Stress incontinence can also be leakage when you bend to lift something.

There are many possible causes for urinary incontinence, but one very common cause is weakness of the pelvic floor or vaginal muscles. Many people have read in magazines or heard from a friend to do "kegels'" However, these are useless if they are not performed correctly. Many women actually squeeze their lower abdominal muscles rather than their pelvic floor muscles, which can actually increase leakage!

Often, a physical therapist can help retrain the pelvic floor muscles by performing pelvic floor rehabilitation. Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation consists of an evaluation of the pelvic floor muscles strength and endurance, as well as general evaluation of the pelvis by a trained physical therapist. Follow up visits can involve instruction in a proper exercise program and proper voiding habits, as well as biofeedback to retrain the muscles and electrical stimulation for neuromuscular re-education. You will likely be asked to complete a voiding diary in order to help your therapist have a clearer picture of why you are having leakage.

Frequently patients have significant symptom improvement within 8 to 12 visits, depending on the exact cause of the leakage. Pelvic floor Rehabilitation is a painless, relatively easy and non-invasive way to stop incontinence. Often, patients are able to avoid complicated surgeries by trying physical therapy first. Even if surgery is needed, patients who have had pelvic floor rehabilitation usually have better outcomes than those who have not.

To get in touch with a physical therapist who can help you with urinary incontinence visit www.womenshealthapta.org or call us at 904-296-4140 with questions or to schedule an appointment.

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