Urinary Incontinence affects a substantial proportion of women and men, which can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life. In this article, we’ll focus on the effects of urinary incontinence on women.
Population studies from numerous countries have reported that the prevalence of Urinary Incontinence among women is between 25-45%. The prevalence increases with increasing age, and women aged 70 years or over have a more than 40% chance of experiencing symptoms. (Milsom and Gyhagen 2019)
Despite this, the evidence suggests that less than half of women experiencing symptoms will seek out assistance for urinary incontinence. (Kinchen et al, 2003)
A study by Waetjen et al. (2018) revealed the common reasons why women with Urinary Incontinence might not seek treatment:
It is important to get professional help for any problem that is affecting your quality of life. If you seek help sooner rather than later, it will improve your chances of a positive outcome and can prevent a worsening of your condition.
Incontinence is defined as the involuntary leakage of urine from the bladder. Incontinence can affect both men and women in any age group but is more common in women. (nhs.uk)
The most common types of urinary incontinence in women are:
The good news is that there is a relatively simple treatment approach that can cure or improve symptoms of stress urinary incontinence and all other types of urinary incontinence. Pelvic floor muscle strengthening exercises, alternatively known as Kegel Exercises, is the treatment of choice. Better still, the potential negative side effects of performing pelvic floor exercises are rare and minor. (Dumoulin et al 2018)
Guidance from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends a supervised programme of pelvic floor muscle training of at least three months' duration for the first-line treatment of stress urinary incontinence or mixed urinary incontinence.
Other self-help measures include:
Firstly, it is important to be sure that you are contracting the right muscles in the right way. If you are in any doubt about where the pelvic floor muscles are and how to contract them, check out the ‘Get to know your Pelvic Floor’ article and video first.
A training regime should include a series of maximal voluntary muscle contractions of varying duration incorporating a period of relaxation between sets.
Work towards 3 sets of 10 of each type every day.
As you become more familiar with these exercises you can progress by practising your pelvic floor muscle exercises in a variety of positions such as lying on your back, on all fours, kneeling up, sitting, and standing.
Finally, we can incorporate pelvic floor muscle exercises into movement and into your everyday activities. You can also practice contracting the muscles in situations where you might have experienced leaks of urine previously.
We hope you are feeling more confident about the steps you can take to improve your pelvic health. Remember, movement is medicine for the body and mind and in most cases, if you do your homework, it will make a difference. Act sooner rather than later to improve your outcome and prevent a worsening of your condition.
If you are in any doubt about whether this advice is appropriate for you, please seek help from a medical professional.
You can watch this video to practice your pelvic floor muscles exercises with Phillipa Butler below.
Exercising your pelvic floor muscles video transcript
Think of the openings in the pelvic floor:
Or you could try:
A training regime should include a series of maximal voluntary contractions of varying duration incorporating a period of relaxation between reps and sets.
Work towards 3 sets of 10 of each every day.
When contracting your pelvic floor muscle you might feel a gentle tightening of the abdominals, but this shouldn’t be overly prominent. You should NOT feel your buttocks tighten, legs rotate out, any movement of your spine or pelvis or downward pressure into the perineum.
Remember it is important that you DO NOT ‘bear down’ as you perform these exercises. Try not to hold your breath and wherever possible coordinate a contraction with an exhalation.
Incorporate Pelvic floor training into the Pilates clam.
References
Dumoulin C, Cacciari LP, Hay Smith EJC. Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD005654. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005654.pub4. Accessed 07 November 2022.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng123/chapter/recommendations#non-surgical-management-of-urinary-incontinence Accessed 07/11/22
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/ Accessed 07/11/22
Kinchen KS, Burgio K, Diokno AC, Fultz NH, Bump R, Obenchain R. Factors associated with women's decisions to seek treatment for urinary incontinence. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2003 Sep;12(7):687-98. doi: 10.1089/154099903322404339. PMID: 14583109.
Milsom I, Gyhagen M. The prevalence of urinary incontinence. Climacteric. 2019 Jun;22(3):217-222. doi: 10.1080/13697137.2018.1543263. Epub 2018 Dec 21. PMID: 30572737.
This article was originally published on iD Direct and has been republished here with permission.
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