Women’s Health Services for Incontinence

Stress Urinary Incontinence

It is estimated that a third of all women in the UK suffer from stress urinary incontinence, and it affects women of all ages. Stress urinary incontinence is the unintentional loss of urine when undertaking normal activities of daily living, such as lifting, exercising, laughing, coughing or sneezing.

Stress urinary incontinence often occurs after the pelvic floor muscles or sphincters have been weakened or damaged. In women these muscles are often weakened as a result of pregnancy and then can also be damage through the birthing process. Some women will develop stress urinary incontinence after the menopause, as a result of the hormonal changes that occur which cause the pelvic floor to become weaker.

Urgency and Urge Incontinence

Urgency is the sudden feeling of needed to go to the toilet and having to rush to get there and urge incontinence is when some bladder control is lost before you can make it to the toilet in time. These conditions are a result of an over active bladder.

People who have an underlying neurological condition such as Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease can be prone to feelings of urgency and subsequent urge incontinence.

What can expect from Physiotherapy to help with this condition?

The treatment of stress, urge, over active bladder and mixed incontinence can be undertaken through the provision of pelvic floor exercises, bladder retraining drills.

This treatment will include a full assessment; this involves a gentle internal vaginal examination, the testing of a urine sample and the completion of a bladder diary prior to your assessment. This allows for a deeper understanding of the issues around your incontinence so that the most effective treatment plan can be developed for you.

Incontinence problems can be improved with pelvic floor exercises, so do not suffer and do not feel embarrassed; this condition is very treatable and very common.

For more information or to speak to the Physiotherapy Team, please call 01642 087 347.