‘Incontinence’ is any involuntary leakage of urine.
There are many causes of incontinence and often more than one! However, the
good news is that for most women, despite the cause – effective pelvic floor muscle
training will help relieve the symptoms.
Leakage of urine is common (up to 30% of women will experience leakage) but it is
not something you have to put up with, and not just ‘normal’.
Clinicians typically attribute the risk of incontinence to following conditions:
1. Pelvic floor muscle weakness or poor function.
Changes to the muscles of the pelvic floor are often because of:
Childbirth – the more vaginal births you have, the greater the risk, but it
is not inevitable!
Menopause – mainly due to hormonal changes
Age – as we age, we lose muscle bulk
High impact exercise can weaken pelvic floor muscles if placed under excessive strain from impact e.g. during running, or high impact activities at a gym for instance.
2. Pelvic organ prolapse (bladder prolapse).
When the muscles/ligaments and other supporting structures for the organs of the pelvis (uterus/bladder/bowel) are not working as they should, one of the symptoms might be leakage. This type of leakage is characterized by:
A slow urinary stream, a feeling of incomplete bladder emptying,
urinary frequency or urgent desire to pass urine, and urinary stress
incontinence.
Sometimes following a hysterectomy, incontinence may develop, even
if it was not present before.
3. Lifestyle factors.
Poor diet, lack of fluid intake, lack of exercise and smoking are all factors which increase the risk of incontinence.
4. Obesity.
There is a strong relationship between obesity and incontinence.
High BMI is known to increase abdominal pressure and therefore the
pressures and stress that are exerted on the bladder, and the pelvic floor
muscles. This increase in pressure can also affect nerve function of the
muscles – again increasing the risk of incontinence.
5. Chronic constipation.
Straining on the toilet is not good for the pelvic floor, or incontinence!
6. Chronic cough
– again this increases the pressure on the bladder and the structures that support the bladder, so they may weaken over time.
7. Too much caffeine
Coffee/tea also fizzy drinks, can irritate the bladder and/or make you want to go to the toilet more often.
8. Urinary Tract Infections (UTI’s)
Bladder conditions – irritable bladder, or other conditions of the bladder
Not drinking enough water!
Typically, incontinence is divided into types:
1. Stress – leakage during increased stress on the bladder – laughing, coughing,
jumping, sneezing – any activity that increases pressure on the bladder
2. Urgency – leakage that follows an urgent need to rush to the toilet – and
sometimes leakage occurs before getting there.
3. Mixed incontinence – where there are symptoms of both types i.e. stress and
urgency.
If you have other symptoms, such as pain on passing urine, sudden or severe pain in
your bladder/pelvis, any bleeding when you go to the toilet, difficulty in passing urine,
you need to consult with your healthcare provider.
It is often helpful to keep a diary of when you leak (is it when you laugh, or cough,
jumping or any time there is activity?), how much you leak (do you need to wear a
pad, and if so how often do you need to change the pad). Do you have an urgent
need to rush to the toilet, even if your bladder is not full, and sometimes leakage
occurs before you get there?
The good news is that effective pelvic floor muscle exercise will help with stress,
urgency and mixed incontinence. But, like all muscle training, the correct muscles
need to be targeted (no use exercising your abdominals, or butt muscles and expect
it work!), and the exercises need to of sufficient intensity and duration to make a
difference.
This is where femfit® is especially helpful. With our unique digital technology, and
patented sensor array you will be able to see if you are targeting your pelvic floor
muscle, the exercise programme you will follow is for 3 months (I know – it is a long
time!!), but you will get the benefit, and the intensity is sufficient to make that
difference.
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