What Can PT do for Incontinence?
There are 3 types of incontinence: stress, urge, and mixed.
Stress Incontinence:
Leakage occurs when the pelvic floor is under stress, usually reported as leakage with sporting activities, coughing, sneezing, and laughing. This is usually caused by weakness of the muscles that help close the urethra, the pelvic floor muscles.
Urge Incontinence:
Urge Incontinence occurs when you feel the urge to urinate and the bladder releases, and you can’t stop it. This can be caused by poor bladder habits, interstitial cystitis (an inflammation of the lining of the bladder), and weakness/incoordination of the pelvic floor muscles.
Mixed Incontinence:
This is a mixture of both of the above.
Also, frequency should be mentioned. This is the need to go to the bathroom more often than every 2 hours. This can be accompanied by incontinence or occur on its own. It is frequently caused by bladder irritants such as caffeine, coffee, artificial sweeteners, and citrus juices. It can also be caused by poor bladder habits and dehydration. Night time frequency can occur as well. You should be able to sleep for 7-8 hours without needing to get up to use the bathroom.