Not all urinary incontinence is the same.
There are several types and almost all of them can be treated by pelvic floor physical therapy.
In this post I am going to introduce to the 3 most common types.
1) Stress incontinence.
If you experience any leakage with coughing, laughing, sneezing, lifting or exercising, you may be suffering from stress incontinence. This type of incontinence is typically related to weak pelvic floor muscles.
It is important to note that leakage of any kind is not normal, no matter how many children you have had.
2) Urge or frequency incontinence.
If you have very strong urges that send you running to the bathroom in record time, you may have urge incontinence. With urge incontinence you have have very strong urges and minimal urine output.
This is not always the result of poor pelvic muscle strength. Instead, it is the how our brain interprets and sends the signals to urinate. This is more related to a hyperactive nervous system than pelvic floor muscles.
3) Mixed incontinence.
Some people experience both stress and urge incontinence. As you can imagine, this can be very frustrating if you don't know how to treat it.
The great news is that pelvic floor physical therapy has a high rate of success with these types of incontinences. In addition to physical therapy, Athena offers hypnosis which may speed up your results and make the process a bit easier for you.