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Stress Urinary Incontinence

Stress Urinary Incontinence

 Written By: Dr. Yuchin Chang PT, DPT, OCS

It is a common and false notion that only elder women may experience urinary incontinence, while women between 20 and 50 years old can suffer from urinary incontinence as well.  Stress Urinary Incontinence is the most common type for this population.  They can have leakage with the following activities, such as:

  • Laughing
  • Lifting
  • Coughing
  • Sneezing
  • Positional change (such as stand to sit or squat)
  • High Impact Exercises (Running, Tennis, etc.)

Urinary IncontinenceWhat is Stress Urinary Incontinence?

Stress Urinary Incontinence is the phenomena of involuntary urinary leakage with increased abdominal pressure, which is often the result of a lack of coordination, weakness and restriction of the pelvic floor muscles.

What are the Risk Factors?

Stress Urinary Incontinence is the most common type of incontinence among younger women.  There are several risk factors: heavy weight lifting, hormonal changes, chronic constipation, pregnancy, childbirth, chronic respiratory issues, and neurological damage.

 

What to do When You are Experiencing Stress Urinary Incontinence:

Urinary incontinence can cause social embarrassment, anxiety, fear, depression and low self-esteem. The best way to cope with it is to seek professional help.

Several treatments may be implemented individually based on the causes and the severity of the incontinence.   Treatment can include pelvic floor muscle strengthening, bladder training, pessary usage, urethral inserts, injection and, in severe cases, surgery.

 

How can a Physical Therapist help with Urinary Incontinence?

Physical Therapists can assist you in retraining the muscles associated with urinary incontinence and regaining proper muscle control.  In individuals with urinary incontinence, weak and/or restricted pelvic floor muscles cannot function properly to close the urethra and avoid leakage.  Rehabilitation of the pelvic floor muscles is considered a primary conservative intervention.

Professional Physical Therapy and Training in Madison and Summit, New Jersey offers one-on-one private treatment sessions with adequate privacy and comfort to the patient.   Our experienced manual physical therapist, Yuchin Chang, specializes in pelvic floor muscle strengthening and can assist you in establishing a personalized treatment plan with care and compassion.  If you are interested in finding out more or scheduling an appointment, please contact Yuchin Chang directly at yuchin@professionalptandtraining.com or call our office at 973-270-7417.

Image courtesy of Ohmega1982 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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