Urinary incontinence is caused by a weakened ability of the bladder to control urination – for one reason or another. Urinary incontinence affects women more often than men, and older people more often than younger people. Among children, it is most commonly boys who experience the problem.
A common cause of incontinence in women is childbirth. For women who have given birth, it is not unusual for the pelvic floor to become weaker, which can lead to incontinence. This may become more pronounced when women go through the menopause.
Treatment of incontinence
There are different treatment methods depending on the type of incontinence a person suffers from. The most common types of incontinence are urge incontinence and stress incontinence. With proper treatment, 7 out of 10 people become free from their urinary incontinence.
With urge urinary incontinence
In these cases, the underlying cause can be more difficult to identify than with stress incontinence. An assessment by a doctor is therefore necessary.
Treatment methods may range from pelvic floor training to medication or surgery.
With stress urinary incontinence
With stress incontinence, the cause is often a weakened pelvic floor following childbirth. This makes it difficult to stop urination during physical activity – anything from coughing to running can trigger involuntary urine leakage in cases of stress incontinence.
Pelvic floor training is a very effective method for reducing stress incontinence. By strengthening the weakened muscles, the problem can often be improved.
