Bladder Concerns
Bladder Concerns
Many women have bladder concerns but you may be unsure of how or where to seek help. Urinary incontinence in women – leaking – can affect us at any point in our lives. In fact, it is very common for women to leak, with around 1 in 3 women developing some form of incontinence in their lifetime.
Is it normal? NO! But the shame and normalisation of bladder concerns like incontinence means they often go unreported and undiagnosed. In fact, many women wait over 6 years before seeking help. Even then, they are often told that “it’s because you’ve had a baby” or “it’s a normal part of the menopause”. But this is simply not true!
There are different types of incontinence in women and understanding this is key when treating it. The two main problems are urgency or stress incontinence.
Urgency incontinence is a common bladder concern for women. You may experience leakage caused by a sudden, overwhelming desire to go to the toilet. In this case, the bladder becomes easily irritable and wants to empty NOW!
Stress incontinence is leakage caused by an increased sudden pressure on the bladder from exercise, coughing, sneezing, laughing, or lifting, which the pelvic floor struggles to counteract.
These bladder concerns are NOT a normal part of ageing, so you do not need to put up with them.
Thrive physiotherapy for women works with you to understand your symptoms, how they are impacting your life and what your triggers may be. We’ll then do a holistic assessment of you – because you are more than just a pelvic floor.
Incontinence issues are multifactorial and may not be due to a weak pelvic floor! We’ll take time to listen to your bladder concerns and understand your journey before taking a detailed assessment of your body to understand the cause of your incontinence.
You’ll receive a tailored rehab plan with you at the heart of it to ensure you get back to moving fearlessly and leak free once again.
At Thrive, as we assess you as a whole, we will never offer a vaginal examination on your first assessment. Instead, we’ll assess how your pelvic floor is working with the rest of your body, and what other muscles may be impacting your pelvic floor’s ability to support your bladder.
If, at a future appointment, we believe that a vaginal examination would be helpful to further assess your pelvic floor and optimise your treatment, we will discuss this with you; and the decision will always be yours.
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