Women’s Physical Therapy: Stress Incontinence
To some women, laughing, sneezing, exercising or coughing can be embarrassing due to the result of those functions such as wet pants due to urethra leakage. Urethra leakage is the condition commonly referred to as stress incontinence or stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
In this day and age, out of every 3 women, 1 of them suffers from Stress urinary incontinence (SUI). However, as the age of women progresses, the condition becomes more prevalent as at least fifty percent of women above the age of 65 suffer from the condition.
The main cause of stress incontinence is weak pelvic floor muscles and fragile abdominal muscles. Increased pressure that is placed on the pelvic floor muscle and bladder can create continence when these muscles are not strong enough to control the continence. This pressure can cause urine to leak out especially during physical activity such as running, engaging in sports, laughing, coughing or sneezing. Our trained physical therapists at Fusion Physical Therapy will provide quality patient care to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.
Some of the factors that weaken pelvic floor muscles in women include:
- Childbirth
- Illnesses that makes you sneeze or cough frequently
- Obesity
- Doing rigorous activities for long like periods of time such as running
There are other risk factors that increase the chances of experiencing stress urinary incontinence, which include:
- Age
- Body weight
- The type of childbirth delivery method – women who undergo vaginal delivery are likely to develop SUI
- Pelvic surgery
At Fusion Physical Therapy, we understand the complications that come along with stress incontinence like personal distress, mixed urinary incontinence, and skin rashes.
How Do We Help?
Our trained women’s health physical therapists, Jackie Saravane will meet with you and conduct a thorough evaluation review of current symptoms and medical history. The appointment might consist of a physical examination of your abdominal area as well as urine samples might be taken in order to conduct an urinary stress test. This will help Jackie create the right treatment plan. The treatment plan may consist of the following:
- bladder training
- pelvic floor muscle exercises like Kegel exercises.
Contact Fusion Physical Therapy today at 580-699-5455 or book an appointment with our women’s health specialist!