Urinary Incontinence

Incontinence will affect 1/3 women sometime across their lifespan.  It can drastically affect their ability to exercise, socialize and as they get older, live independently.  It can also be a source of financial burden when the use of incontinence products is required.  The great news is pelvic physiotherapy is an extremely effective treatment for incontinence; you are 8x more likely to be cured and 17x more likely to have symptom improvement if you seek help from a pelvic physiotherapist.  

Types of Incontinence

1. Urgency Urinary Incontinence

• Complaint of involuntary loss of urine associated with urgency.

• Often associated with a cue (running water, putting keys in the door, mid run or walk).

1. Stress Urinary Incontinence

• Complaint of involuntary loss of urine on effort or physical exertion.

• Often associated with running, jumping, laughing, sneezing, coughing.

1. Overflow Urinary Incontinence

• Complaint of involuntary release of urine from an overfull bladder, often in the absence of any urge to urinate.

• Often associated with not taking regular bathroom breaks, drinking too much water/fluids, certain medications.

What to Expect with a Pelvic Physiotherapy Assessment?

• Subjective history where we ask you things like:

  • When do you leak urine? How much? How often?

  • How long have your symptoms been going on?

  • Has anything made it worse?

  • How often do you pee during the day? At night?

  • How much fluids are you drinking? 

  • What strategies are you using to cope with your incontinence?

• Internal exam:

  • An internal exam is not required, but it gives us a lot of information!  We will walk you through everything we do before and during the exam to make sure you feel comfortable.

  • An internal exam gives us information about your pelvic floor strength, endurance, muscle coordination and tension.

What Does Treatment Look Like?

• We will provide you with education on the type of incontinence you have and strategies for improving it.

• Pelvic floor training

• Core strengthening

• Program for gradual return to impact exercise

• Bladder retraining for healthy bladder habits

What Can I Do to Prepare for my Appointment?

• Fill out a bladder diary beforehand (see link below).  It provides us with useful information that can help guide treatment.

• https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Alberta/Pages/bladder-bowel-diary.aspx

Have more questions?  Contact us at getwell@coronaphysio.com