Incontinence: Take control of your symptoms.
“Oops, I just peed a little!”
Do you find yourself saying that after you’ve just coughed, or sneezed? Or how about exercising and you have to stop doing your jumping jacks because you just leaked?
Far too often we joke about these experiences but over time we begin to stop doing the things we want to do or we start doing the tell tale sign of crossing our legs before every cough or sneeze. YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!
We understand that talking about urine leakage is not always comfortable but it’s time we start having the conversation. Once we begin to have dialogue surrounding this topic, we can begin to take control of these symptoms and get back to doing the things we want to do!
This article is going to give you some great information about the types of incontinence women (and men) experience and what you can do to help relieve your symptoms but before we get in to that, let’s address the word INCONTINENCE. Many people associate this word with elderly individuals however the term incontinence really just means any involuntary loss of urine (or feces). Incontinence does not care about your age. It is also important to note that even small amounts of urine leakage is still incontinence and is not normal.
Alright, so now that we understand that, let’s begin.
There are different types of incontinence. Today, we are going to talk about 3 different types.
Stress incontinence
Urge incontinence
Mixed incontinence
Stress incontinence
This is the type of incontinence described at the beginning of this article. Perhaps it is better described as “activity related” incontinence. This is when urine leaks as a result of an activity that causes an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. These activities might include coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting heavy, and/or exercising.
Urge incontinence
This is urine leaking accompanied by or immediately preceded by an “urge” or strong desire to urinate. Think about scenarios such as hearing water running and all of a sudden needing to go NOW! Or, how about needing to go every time you pull in to the driveway or put your key in the door lock. Often times with urge incontinence, individuals will leak urine even before they can make it to the bathroom.
Mixed incontinence
You guessed it! This is a combination of both stress and urge incontinence. It is common for women to initially experience one type of incontinence and then develop mixed incontinence due to adjusting behaviors in their lifestyle. This might actually worsen or contribute to worsening leakage symptoms.
We will discuss in more detail types of incontinence in later articles. Now that we have a base understanding, let’s jump in to how we can take control of our symptoms and start living our best life.
Physical Therapy is a great, affordable option for improving symptoms of incontinence, but it’s important not to go to just any physical therapy provider. It is true that most physical therapists have a base knowledge of how to treat incontinence but you will want to do research ahead of time to find a physical therapist who specializes in women’s health. Shameless plug, that’s us here at Shift Physical Therapy and Wellness!
Women’s Health Physical Therapists, like myself, are specially trained to discuss your symptoms and help determine whether you are experiencing stress (activity-related), urge, or mixed incontinence. We also have advanced knowledge in pelvic floor physical therapy (no we aren’t just talking about kegel exercises). We will help to determine which muscles need to be strengthened and which ones might need to relax. We will also help to identify any lifestyle factors that may be contributing to your symptoms.
So how long would you typically expect to see a physical therapist for incontinence? You would be surprised to learn that most women start to notice an improvement in their symptoms within 2-3 visits and report minimal to no leakage after completing their full plan of care. These women also report money savings due to not needing to buy pads or other absorptive products and have improved confidence during activities and in social situations.
Now is the time to make the SHIFT! Start taking control of your symptoms, and get back to doing the things you love. Give us call, shoot us an email, or request an appointment to get started on your journey to a better life.
Phone: (763) 645 - 1113
Email: info@shiftptwell.com
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Written by: Renee Hancock, your Women’s Health Physical Therapist
