Overactive bladder may be treated using pelvic floor physiotherapy techniques.
These pelvic floor physiotherapy techniques help you control sudden bladder urgency to reduce or avoid bladder leakage.
Overactive bladder treatment includes:
Pelvic floor exercises are one of the key management strategies for overactive bladder.
How pelvic floor exercises help with bladder urgency
Strong pelvic floor muscles can help you store more in your bladder before you feel the urge to empty.
Performing a strong pelvic floor contraction when you first feel the urge to empty can help you decrease your urge to give you sufficient time to get to the bathroom to prevent bladder leakage.
Overactive bladder is often treated with bladder control training.
Bladder control training aims to improve bladder storage by holding on or deferring bladder emptying and storing progressively larger volumes in the bladder over time.
Bladder control training usually involves using urge control strategies and measuring how much your bladder empties and trying to increase the amount when you do empty.
Try to avoid emptying your bladder with small volumes of urine.
Most adults should aim to empty 250-500 mls (8.5 – 17 fluid ounces). This involves emptying the bladder around 6-8 times a day and once at night when drinking 8 glasses of fluid during the day.
Avoid emptying your bladder ‘just in case’. If you repeatedly empty your bladder before you really need to, you’ll reduce the volume your bladder can store. Going ‘just in case’ has the effect of decreasing how much your bladder can hold before is signals you to empty.
Good bladder habits for children
Sometimes we ask children whether they need to empty for our own convenience. Admittedly there’s nothing worse than being half way through the shopping to be told that a bathroom visit is needed.
Unfortunately caregivers including mothers and grandmothers sometimes unknowingly cause children to develop bladder problems and the habit of ‘going just in case’. When possible try to let children learn to feel the appropriate urge to empty without prompting them.
Some common bladder irritants are hidden in foods and drinks. The following list contains some of the more common bladder irritants that may or may not contribute to overactive bladder:
Potential Bladder Irritants include:
The best way to know if these are problems for you is to eliminate them for a few weeks and notice any changes in your bladder symptoms.
Caffeine is a major bladder irritant affecting many (not all) women. Caffeine can irritate cells lining the bladder wall and acts as a diuretic causing the bladder to fill quickly.
It can pay dividends to avoid that cup of strong coffee or black tea at breakfast especially if you’re going out.
Herbal teas are a good caffeine-free option for most women. Green tea also contains caffeine, if you’re worried about your bladder control you may benefit from choosing caffeine-free drinks.
A bladder trigger is something that causes your bladder to contract – often without warning.
Knowing your triggers can help you anticipate bladder urgency and plan accordingly. Different women have different triggers that set off their overactive bladder symptoms.
Typical bladder triggers include:
Take the time to notice what triggers your bladder urgency. Knowing your triggers will help you anticipate and better manage them in the future using urge control strategies.
Constipation and bloating with wind or gas can make bladder urgency worse. A full bowel takes up space in the lower abdomen increasing pressure on the bladder.
If you’re prone to constipation and/or bloating with gas take steps to address these problems as part of your overactive bladder management plan.
When all else fails some ladies need to use medication to manage uncontrollable bladder urgency with overactive bladder.
These types of medications act by blocking the messages to your brain that cause your bladder muscle to contract giving you the sense of urgency.
Medications for treating bladder urgency can be used short-term to assist with bladder control training. Some ladies find that they need to take medication on and ongoing basis.
Medications for bladder urgency are prescription-based and they do have some unpleasant side effects (including dry mouth and constipation).
If you’re suffering from uncontrolled bladder urgency with overactive bladder you can access treatment from a trained Continence and Women’s Health Physiotherapist, Continence Nurse Adviser or Urologist.
with Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist
Michelle Kenway
Learn how to strengthen and train your pelvic floor muscles with expert guidance in the privacy of your home – get professional help and strengthen your pelvic floor.
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