Most cases of stress incontinence are the result of weakened pelvic floor muscles, often because of childbirth. When coughing, sneezing or exercising puts extra pressure on the bladder, small amounts of urine may leak. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, proper preventive measures and treatment prescribed by a physical therapist can help alleviate the condition.
Misconceptions
An article published on the APTA website Moving Forward revealed that stress urinary incontinence affected up to 67 per cent of women during pregnancy in 2009 and as many as 38 per cent during the first three months following delivery. Physical therapist Ruth Maher comments, "Many women feel that stress urinary incontinence is inevitable postpartum and is a normal part of aging." According to Maher, this is a misconception and should not prevent you from talking to your doctor about stress incontinence.
Treatment
Research has shown a success rate of 80 percent after physical therapy treatment for stress incontinence. A study conducted by Patricia Neumann, a women's health physiotherapist, concluded that an effective program of pelvic floor strengthening exercises increased the strength of the muscles and improved the support they provided to the pelvic organs. The training programs were individually tailored, but the common factors leading to success were adhering to the exercise routine and using correct technique. According to Neumann, in some cases as little as two minutes of exercise two or three times a day for four to six months were enough to cure the condition.
Exercises
Your pelvic floor is a sheet of muscles extending from your tail bone to your pubic bone at the front. It provides a floor to the bottom part of your abdomen and supports your bladder, uterus and rectum. Exercising the pelvic floor is as simple as closing and drawing up the muscles around your anus as if trying to stop passing wind and then doing the same with the muscles around the vagina as if trying to stop the flow of urine. You then hold this position for a count of five before slowly relaxing. The pelvic floor muscles tire easily, so you might want to start with a count of three at first and gradually build up to holding the contraction longer. Do the contraction five times per exercise session and do five sessions a day.
Expert Insight
According to Ruth Maher of APTA, stress incontinence has a severe impact on women emotionally as well as physically, because many women may prefer to forgo exercise rather than cope with the embarrassment of urine leakage. Stress incontinence is more likely to affect obese women, so this lack of exercise can have a severe long-term effect on their health. Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and get yourself on the road to better health.
