Urinary Incontinence
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) can be painful, irritating, and even dangerous if the infection spreads. The providers at Capital Women's Care Howard County located in Fulton, Maryland, offer same-day appointments to treat UTIs quickly. If you have a UTI and need prompt treatment, contact us.
What is urinary incontinence?
Urinary incontinence — sometimes known as loss of bladder control — is a condition where you’re unable to control the release of urine. Urinary incontinence is categorized as either stress incontinence or urge incontinence, which is sometimes called overactive bladder syndrome.
Stress incontinence is when you leak urine when you put pressure on your bladder and urinary tract by laughing, sneezing, coughing or by other physical activity like picking up your child or exercising. Urge incontinence is when you experience a sudden and urgent need to urinate but don’t actually release much urine.
What causes urinary incontinence?
Stress incontinence is caused by weakness in your pelvic floor. This weakness is often due to the physical trauma of pregnancy, childbirth or menopause. During menopause, your estrogen levels drop. This can lead to vaginal atrophy — a drying and weakening of your vaginal tissues. This also weakens your total pelvic floor, leaving your bladder and urinary tract without sufficient support.
Urge incontinence is caused by neurological malfunction, a muscle spasm in the tissues supporting the bladder, or bladder damage caused by other conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease.
How is urinary incontinence treated?
The doctors at Capital Women’s Care offer customized treatments to reduce your incontinence symptoms and heal the underlying condition causing them. Your treatment will include a combination of treatments such as:
Medication
Bladder physiotherapy
Pelvic floor muscle training
In-office and surgical procedures
Your doctor will use conservative and noninvasive treatments to treat the cause of your incontinence first. If noninvasive treatments aren’t successful, they’ll perform minimally invasive procedures whenever possible to correct the issue causing your incontinence.
What is pelvic floor muscle training?
Pelvic floor muscle training is a specific form of physical therapy that restores strength to your pelvic floor, including the muscles and fascia that support your bladder and urinary tract. Pelvic floor muscle training is very prevalent in Europe, where most women receive it after delivering a baby.
Offered in-house at Capital Women’s Care, pelvic floor muscle training begins with a comprehensive physical exam to determine the strength of your pelvic floor muscles. Then your doctor creates a treatment plan that combines a variety of exercises like Kegels and treatments like electrostimulation to train and strengthen your pelvic floor.
If you’re concerned about urinary incontinence, call or request an appointment today and regain control of your body and your life.