You Don’t Have to Live with Urinary Issues
Andrea Mulder, PT, DPT, OCS
There are many different ways urinary issues can show up for people and there may be overlap in symptoms.
Here are 6 common urinary issues we frequently see and can help with:
Stress Incontinence: Uncontrolled loss of urine with physical exertion, ie. coughing, sneezing, laughing, running, jumping, bending, lifting, intercourse. This is the most common form of incontinence that is often seen during pregnancy, after childbirth, and menopause.
Urge Incontinence: Uncontrolled loss of urine after a strong, sudden urge to urinate. This is sometimes referred to as “overactive bladder”. Leaking can occur unexpectedly during sleep, after drinking water, hearing or touching running water, or leaving/arriving at your house.
Mixed Incontinence: This is a combination of both stress and urge incontinence.
Urinary Frequency: Increased frequency of urination which is less than 2 hours between voids during the day or greater than 1 time during the night.
Urinary Hesitancy: Difficulty in starting a urine stream.
Urinary Retention: Bladder is not completely emptying.
There are many underlying medical conditions that result in the above presentations! But below are some common reasons that these things occur:
Pregnancy: During pregnancy, the baby can put pressure on the bladder, urethra and your pelvic floor which can weaken the support system and lead to problems with leaking or difficulty with urinating. Hormones can also impact your bladder.
Childbirth: During childbirth, tissues can become stretched and torn which can impact the pelvic floor muscles and potentially nerves. Most issues resolve within about 6 weeks.
Menopause: During menopause, your hormones start to change. Decreased estrogen can impact the vaginal tissues leading to atrophy and weakening of tissues.
Organ Prolapse: Organs can descend and change position due to a variety of reasons. A prolapsed bladder can put pressure on the urethra and lead to urinary symptoms.
CONSTIPATION: I put this condition in bold because this is a common underlying condition that many people with urinary dysfunction experience. Whether it is the pressure of a full rectum that impacts symptoms or the excessive straining and bearing down during bowel movements, this MUST be addressed in trying to help with urinary symptoms. As a rule of thumb, I say treat the bowels first and the bladder will often improve!
Medications: Urinary incontinence and urinary frequency/urgency can be a side effect of certain medications. Diuretics, blood pressure medications, and hormone replacement medications can potentially impact your bladder.
Diet and fluid intake: Certain foods and beverages can irritate the bladder leading to increased frequency and urgency. Not drinking enough water can also create similar symptoms. And yes, I said NOT drinking enough water!
Infection: Bacteria and infection can result in temporary bladder changes including pain, frequency, and incontinence.
Nerve Damage: Any injury impacting a neural connection to the bladder can result in decreased control or even inability to urinate. Therefore, any damage to the nervous system including a spinal cord injury, head injury, back injury and even hip injury could impact the bladder. Some disease processes, such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes can also have impact on the nerves. Nerves could also be affected during childbirth.
Stress: Stress can impact our hormones and also how our nervous system is regulated, or should we say unregulated! This in turn, can impact the bladder. Stress can also increase tension in your body including the muscles of the pelvic floor…. If these muscles aren’t relaxed, that can impact your urination.
Being in a Larger Body: Sometimes weight can put pressure on the bladder and make urinary symptoms worse.
There are many reasons you might experience urinary issues, but we can help!
You can learn more with Andrea’s Bladder 101 course, or book a Healthy Pelvis Assessment to find out how we can help!