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| Urinary Incontinence: A Common Issue Commonly Left Untreated: A Physical Therapist Discusses the Several Types of Incontinence |
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by Erin Baird, PT, DPT, BCB-PMD - August 9, 2010
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It is reported that 1 in 4 people will develop some type of incontinence throughout their lifespan. Most people think incontinence is normal with aging and they just have to deal with it. Fortunately, it is NOT normal! There are many treatment options available so urinary incontinence does not have to remain untreated. These include surgery, medication and strengthening your pelvic floor muscles and bladder re-training thru physical therapy.
There are several types of incontinence. The first type is stress incontinence. This is when a loss of urine occurs with any increase in intra abdominal pressure including coughing, sneezing and bending over. The second type is called urge incontinence. It is the “gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now” commercials you see on television with associated urine leakage on the way to the bathroom. The third type is a combination of the last two and is called mixed incontinence. The last type is overflow incontinence where the bladder is not sending a signal to your brain that your bladder is full. When the bladder becomes too full, urine leakage occurs because the bladder cannot hold it back anymore. These types of incontinence can be caused by decreased estrogen levels associated with menopause or hormone imbalance, obesity, diabetes, pregnancy, childbirth, medications, surgery and weak pelvic floor muscles.
If your patients are reporting this issue it is best to refer them to a urologist or urogynecologist, where they can discuss the treatment options available to them, such as medications, surgery and physical therapy.
You can also check out these websites for more information:
www.nafc.org,
www.mayoclinic.com/health/urinary-incontinence/ds00404
Erin Baird is a physical therapist at Sullivan Physical Therapy in Austin, Texas. She earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Boston University and is certified in pelvic floor biofeedback thru the Biofeedback International Alliance. Erin has found a great interest in women’s and men’s pelvic health and has been treating patients with urinary and fecal incontinence, pudendal neuralgia, vulvodynia, vestibulodynia, dyspareunia, interstitial cystitis and vaginismus for the past two years. Prior to specializing in this area, she practiced in the Washington D.C area treating a variety of orthopaedic and neurological diagnosis such as low back and neck pain, shoulder and knee injuries, stroke, spinal cord injury, and balance disorders.
www.sullivanphysicaltherapy.com
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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