Urinary Incontinence
-
- Tweet
Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery
Certified Nurse Midwives located in Paterson, NJ
More than 70% of the 25 million Americans adults who live with urinary incontinence are women. At Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery Service in Clifton, New Jersey, Paola Escobar, MSN, CNM, and her team of midwives offer compassionate and discreet diagnosis and treatment for urinary incontinence. If you leak urine when you cough, sneeze or laugh, call Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery Service or make an appointment online today.
We offer pelvic floor therapy and biofeedback.
Biofeedback Pelvic muscle rehabilitation (PMR) is a technique that uses EMG-biofeedback to improve pelvic floor strength by helping patients learn to control/contract the proper muscle groups through increased awareness. The application gives a visual representation of a change in a measured channel. Biofeedback can react on a pressure channel, an EMG channel or a combination of two channels. The goal of biofeedback is to:
- Enhance pelvic muscles’ awareness
- Promote pelvic muscles’ function and coordination
- Minimize using of accessory muscles
Electrical Stimulation Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) involves delivering a small electrical current to the pelvic floor muscles to:
- Produce a reflex muscle contraction
- Contract pelvic floor muscles
- Relax and inhibit pelvic floor muscles (as seen in urinary retention or pelvic pain therapy)
Biofeedback + Stimulation With the Laborie Urostym, stimulation is used as an adjunct to pelvic muscle exercises. Mixed biofeedback and stimulation protocols are highly effective to:
- Provide a passive contraction that increases awareness of pelvic floor muscle contractions in general
- Assist with identification and isolation of pelvic muscle
- Increase pelvic muscle contraction strength
- Decrease unwanted or uninhibited detrusor (bladder) muscle contraction<
Urinary Incontinence Q & A
What is urinary incontinence?
Urinary incontinence occurs when you aren’t able to control your bladder and unintentionally release urine. The two most common types of incontinence are stress incontinence and an overactive bladder.
Stress incontinence develops when the muscles and tissues that support your bladder and urethra weaken. As a result, when your bladder is stressed, for example, if you cough or sneeze, the pressure pushes a little bit of urine out of your body.
An overactive bladder, sometimes called urge incontinence, is when you experience sudden and uncontrollable urges to urinate. You may be able to get to a bathroom in time but will typically urinate more than eight times a day. You also may not actually release much urine when you go.
What causes urinary incontinence?
Weakness in your pelvic floor causes stress incontinence. Women are particularly susceptible to stress incontinence because of their anatomy. Pregnancy and childbirth put a significant amount of physical strain on your pelvic floor, which can stretch and weaken the muscles.
Additionally, when your estrogen levels decrease with menopause, you may develop a condition known as vaginal atrophy. Vaginal atrophy causes the tissues in your vaginal walls to become thin, dry, and weak, which reduces the support available to your bladder and urethra.
Urge incontinence is often due to nerve damage that over-stimulates your bladder. Other factors that contribute to incontinence include being overweight and drinking too much caffeine or alcohol.
How is urinary incontinence treated?
The team at Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery Service begin treatment with a comprehensive exam and testing to diagnose your specific type of incontinence. Your practitioner may request that you keep a bladder diary and may order a urinalysis to check for signs of other conditions that could cause your symptoms.
Once your practitioner understands your condition, they work with you to find effective therapies. In addition to practicing physical therapy like Kegels and bladder training exercises, your practitioner may also recommend lifestyle changes such as adjusting your diet and fluid intake to improve your health while also reducing your symptoms.
Don’t let urinary incontinence disrupt your life. Call Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery Service or make an appointment online today to get the expert help you need to regain control of your bladder.
