One of the most common forms of incontinence is stress incontinence.
This condition is typically caused by a loss of tone or other damage to the pelvic floor muscles or the sphincter muscles.
While this type of damage is more common in women than men, men also can experience this form of stress particularly if they have had surgery done to treat prostate cancer.
If these muscle groups are damaged, the bladder becomes much more sensitive to external stresses.
A simple sneeze or a hearty laugh can create enough abdominal pressure to cause an involuntary flow of urine.
For many the treatment for this condition is exercise.
Doing Kegel exercises daily for about 3 months often results in a cure but almost always reduces the symptoms.
There is another therapy that has been in use for several years called bulking which basically involves injecting a material in the sphincter muscles to "bulk" them up and make them less susceptible to abdominal pressure.
The materials injected can include collagen, synthetic materials or even cells from the patient's own body.
The procedure itself can be done on an outpatient basis and usually only takes 30 minutes.
Using a local anesthetic the material is injected directly into the muscles involved.
For about a quarter of the people who undergo this procedure the therapy is a cure.
For others their symptoms can be cut in half.
The down side of this approach is that the materials injected may wear away requiring another injection every two or three years.
While this is a successful therapy for stress incontinence, it does nothing for urge or overflow bladder forms of the condition.
If you think this might be appropriate for you, make an appointment with your doctor and check out your options.
Stress incontinence does not have to be an everyday part of your life if you simply take action to control or cure it.
This condition is typically caused by a loss of tone or other damage to the pelvic floor muscles or the sphincter muscles.
While this type of damage is more common in women than men, men also can experience this form of stress particularly if they have had surgery done to treat prostate cancer.
If these muscle groups are damaged, the bladder becomes much more sensitive to external stresses.
A simple sneeze or a hearty laugh can create enough abdominal pressure to cause an involuntary flow of urine.
For many the treatment for this condition is exercise.
Doing Kegel exercises daily for about 3 months often results in a cure but almost always reduces the symptoms.
There is another therapy that has been in use for several years called bulking which basically involves injecting a material in the sphincter muscles to "bulk" them up and make them less susceptible to abdominal pressure.
The materials injected can include collagen, synthetic materials or even cells from the patient's own body.
The procedure itself can be done on an outpatient basis and usually only takes 30 minutes.
Using a local anesthetic the material is injected directly into the muscles involved.
For about a quarter of the people who undergo this procedure the therapy is a cure.
For others their symptoms can be cut in half.
The down side of this approach is that the materials injected may wear away requiring another injection every two or three years.
While this is a successful therapy for stress incontinence, it does nothing for urge or overflow bladder forms of the condition.
If you think this might be appropriate for you, make an appointment with your doctor and check out your options.
Stress incontinence does not have to be an everyday part of your life if you simply take action to control or cure it.