Urge Incontinence: What’s Your Super Power?

If your superpower is always knowing where the nearest restroom is - maybe it’s because you are silently stressing about urge incontinence? What is urge incontinence? Well, read on….

An “urge” is a strong desire or impulse. When we talk about “urge incontinence” in the realm of pelvic floor physical therapy, we are talking about lack of voluntary control of urine or feces which is immediately preceded by an intense urge. For this blog we are going to focus on the involuntary leakage of urine. The leakage that occurs can be just a few drops, or complete emptying.

Sometimes the strong urges occur with specific triggers. For example, it will commonly occur with pulling your car into the driveway, putting the key in the door to unlock it, or with the sound of running water. While it is common to experience an urge during some of these events, it is important to note that it is not normal to have these events lead to a mad dash for the bathroom, or leakage of urine before you make it to the bathroom.

When our bladder is filling, our first urge to urinate typically occurs when the bladder is only about halfway full. If we constantly run to the bathroom to empty the bladder when it is only half full - we start to train our brains into believing that the bladder MUST be emptied immediately rather than trusting that we have time before we NEED to use the bathroom.

Another factor that can intensify these urges is when the contents of the bladder are irritable to the lining of the bladder. Sometimes the urine in the bladder can cause the bladder to contract more forcefully when it is very concentrated (not very diluted) due to dehydration or not drinking enough water. Women who are dealing with urinary incontinence often drink less fluids because they think that they will avoid having accidents if they don’t drink as much. However, it can actually WORSEN their leakage by making the urine too concentrated and having it cause stronger bladder contractions that make it hard to control the loss of urine from the bladder.

There are also certain foods and beverages that can contribute to increased bladder irritation - for a list of common bladder irritants, click on the link. I never tell people they need to completely avoid the things on this list (don’t take away my coffee!! Or WINE - gasp!). However it is important to drink plenty of water with some of these possible irritants to be sure that it doesn’t worsen your symptoms.

So if you find yourself sprinting to the bathroom as soon as you pull your car into the driveway, or when you start to run the water to wash your dishes - it might be time to find a pelvic floor physical therapist to help you take back CONTROL of your bladder. I am a pelvic floor specialist at Shift Physical Therapy and Wellness and it is my passion to teach women about their bodies. I want every woman to be able to be CONFIDENT in their body. Let’s change your superpower to something other than knowing where the nearest restroom is! Give us a call, email us, or fill out a Request an appointment to get started.

Written by: Renee Hancock, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist