1 in 3 women over the age of 18 experience urinary incontinence at some stage in their life. Women over the age of 40 are more likely to experience bladder leakage with as many as 2 in 3 women affected. Only an estimated 25% of women who have urinary incontinence seek medical help. This condition remains extremely âtabooâ. Many women do not identify with the term incontinence which typically makes them think of an older lady with significant degrees of leakage. The term preferred by the majority of women is to call it âbladder leakageâ.
There are several types of urinary incontinence, including:
Stress incontinence
when urine leaks out at times when your bladder is under pressure; for example, when you cough or laugh
Urge incontinence
when urine leaks as you feel a sudden, intense urge to pee, or soon afterwards
overflow incontinence (chronic urinary retention) â when youâre unable to fully empty your bladder, which causes frequent leaking
Overflow incontinence (chronic urinary retention)
when youâre unable to fully empty your bladder, which causes frequent leaking
Total incontinence
when your bladder cannot store any urine at all, which causes you to pass urine constantly or have frequent leaking.
Itâs also possible to have a mixture of both stress and urge urinary incontinence.
Stress incontinence is usually the result of the weakening of or damage to the muscles used to prevent urination, such as the pelvic floor muscles and the urethral sphincter.
Urge incontinence is usually the result of overactivity of the detrusor muscles, which control the bladder.
Women in particular suffer from incontinence, particularly after child birth, and post-menopause. Many women are aware that they need to strengthen their pelvic floor, but are not really sure how to do this effectively. Physiotherapy can be of particular value in the re-education of the pelvic floor muscles, and at this clinic we have biofeedback and electrical stimulation devices, including the revolutionary Pelvipower machine.
Men can also suffer from incontinence, usually after interventions for prostate cancer or prostate hypertrophy. It is extremely important that post surgery or treatment , men are taught to re engage their pelvic floor to prevent incontinence
Our Physiotherapy Clinic Services
The West Wimbledon Physiotherapy Clinic aims to provide a selection of services to maintain and enhance health and wellbeing. Although primarily a physiotherapy clinic, a range of other treatments are available.
