Urinary Incontinence – All The Basics You Need To Know

For our first blog this 2023, I will be talking about Urinary Incontinence.

I talk about this a lot, and I wanted to reiterate some basic information about it through this blog. In this article Urinary Incontinence what it is, what does it look like, how many types there are, and the like.

The Types Of Urinary Incontinence

There are multiple types of Urinary Incontinence but I will break it down into three groups:

1. Stress Incontinence – You get a leak every time you cough, sneeze, laugh, jump, run, lift, so basically anytime you have movement or increased pressure through the pelvic floor.
2. Urge Incontinence – This is when you get the strong sensation of, “Oh, I got to pee now. If I don’t pee now, I am going to pee all over myself.” You rush to the bathroom and sometimes you make it, sometimes you do not.
3. Mixed Incontinence – It is a little bit of both; stress incontinence and urge incontinence. You have the urge and you also get incontinence because of stress.

Why Do You Have Incontinence And Should You Get Help For It?

It is very common to have Urinary Incontinence, you’re in good company, for sure.  It is not, however, normal. Note that urinary incontinence isn’t only experienced by women, as it can also be experienced by men. It is linked mostly to women, however due to our anatomy and it being very common after childbirth.  

As for getting help for it, you definitely should. Many men and women unfortunately walk around assuming “this is just my new normal to have leaking”,  but you can actually stop this from happening!

What Can You Do About Urinary Incontinence?

There are so many things you can do about Urinary Incontinence. Sometimes, people get medication for it and sometimes it can work. Other times, however, medication does not help at all. And honestly, you should always try a more natural approach to fixing this issue, rather than adding another medication to your daily routine and pharmacy bill.

Physical Therapy is that option! What we look at when you come for an assessment regarding Urinary Incontinence at Core Physical Therapy is the type of incontinence you are dealing with and why you are having it. We try to get to the root cause of your issue, rather than just masking it.

We will check if you have an overactive or underactive  pelvic floor, if you are having pain/discomfort in the area, and assess the muscular function.  This is done with a quick internal pelvic muscle assessment, typically within the vaginal canal. Please note, however, that external assassins are also available for those who may not feel comfortable with an internal assessment.

If your pelvic floor is overactive, think of it as always being tight. In comparison, if you clench your fist really hard, you will eventually have hand cramps and it will be painful. You will also start dropping things out of your hand, and it will seem weak, because it is no longer functional, as in you cannot open and close it.  Therefore, an overactive pelvic floor is not functional. A muscle needs to be able to contract and fully relax.

The same is true when we check if you have an underactive pelvic floor. An underactive pelvic floor will cause the same symptoms as an overactive pelvic floor. You can leak, and there can also be pain associated with it.

Assessing whether you have an overactive or underactive pelvic floor is important because you want to do exercises that are appropriate for you. If you have an overactive pelvic floor, Core Physical Therapy go to exercise will NOT BE Kegels. That is the worst thing you would do if you have an overactive pelvic floor because, remember, Kegels aren’t always the answer to your pelvic floor issues. With an overactive pelvic floor, you want to lengthen and relax before adding strengthening exercises. A tight muscle isn’t necessarily strong, that is why we need to get those pelvic floor muscles relaxed first.

For an underactive pelvic floor, we will teach you how to engage, contract it properly, and how to close that urethra so that you do not leak. We will gradually challenge and load the muscles appropriately in order to meet the tasks and demands placed on it.

When you come in for an assessment at Core Physical Therapy, we will also be taking a look at how you breathe. Are you a chest breather, are you a belly breather, or are you a rib breather? Do you do 360 breathing? And we assess how you lift, run, jump, squat, and the like.

To take it a step further, we analyze your volume intake, what and how much you are eating and drinking, if there are bladder irritants that are causing the urge to pee, or possibly if you are not drinking enough, causing your urine to be concentrated, which can contribute to bladder spasms.

We then analyze how often you urinate. Do you need to go to the bathroom every half hour? Are you getting up multiple times at night to pee?

We look at so many things during the assessment so we can address them specifically to you and put you in optimal positions and circumstances that will help solve your pelvic floor issues..

So if any of these sound like you, reach out and ask questions. I can help direct you to the right person or if your symptoms are something we can help you with, Core Physical Therapy will be assisting you from start to finish.

Our phone number is 314-252-0345, or you can look us up on Facebook, or visit us at our new clinic, located at 1043 Wolfrum Rd.
See you soon!