Bladder concerns take many forms and are all addressed differently.
Incontinence (involuntary loss of urine):
● Can be one of three forms:
● Stress urinary incontinence (SUI): leakage with increasing pressure such as cough or sneeze.
● Urge urinary incontinence (UUI) which is leakage that occurs when you haven’t made it to the toilet in time.
● Mixed incontinence: a combination of both.
● Contributing factors may include reduced pelvic floor muscle strength, an overactive pelvic floor, fluid intake, mental health or stress.
● Pelvic Health Physiotherapists are well equipped to assess and diagnose these conditions and their root cause to help minimise or resolve the symptoms.
Overactive bladder (OAB):
● A sudden and compelling desire to empty your bladder without sufficient warning that is difficult to defer.
● It may also include incontinence and increased frequency during the day and night.
● This condition can be diagnosed by a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist in the absence of a urinary tract infection.
● Treatments may include bladder retraining, fluid intake modifications, constipation management, pelvic floor muscle downtraining, reducing bladder irritants or trans-tibial nerve stimulation (non-invasive).
Voiding symptoms:
● Changes or difficulty in emptying the bladder.
● These can include changes to the flow speed or direction, hesitancy, stop/start flow, increased time to empty, feeling of incomplete emptying, the need to void twice, post void dibble or pain with urination.
● Your Pelvic Health Physiotherapist will work with you asking specific questions, completing specialised assessments and providing individual treatment.