Urinary Incontinence Specialist

What is urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence, or bladder control loss, is the loss of urine unintentionally. Stress incontinence is one of the most common forms, and it happens when there is a physical activity that causes leakage. Activities that can cause accidents to happen include:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Laughing
• Sexual intercourse
• Exercise
• Lifting heavy objects
• Certain movements

If one or all of these actions causes leakage for you, stress incontinence could be the reason.

What causes stress urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence happens when the pelvic floor muscles are weak. Possible causes include:

Childbirth

Vaginal childbirth can cause the surrounding muscles to weaken the pelvic floor muscles. 

Aging

As the body ages, the weakening of muscles can cause incontinence.

Hysterectomy

The uterus and bladder share some of the same muscle support systems, so if the uterus is removed, it may damage the supporting pelvic floor muscles. This can cause incontinence.

Body weight

Being overweight can cause stress incontinence due to the extra weight on the pelvic muscles.

What are the other types of urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence can make daily activities difficult and be embarrassing. Along with stress incontinence, other types of incontinence include:

• Urge incontinence - when the need to urinate comes on suddenly
• Overflow incontinence - dribbling of urine between bathroom breaks
• Functional incontinence - not being able to make it to the bathroom in time due to a physical or mental disability
• Mixed incontinence - experiencing a mix of different reasons

If you experience any or all of these symptoms, it’s important to find solutions so you can have the confidence to live your life to the fullest again. Dr. Heath and the team specializes in developing personalized urinary incontinence treatment plans that work.

How is urinary incontinence treated?

At The Cedar City Institute of Women's Health, the first line of treatment is typically diet and lifestyle modification. Women with mild-to-moderate incontinence symptoms often see improvement through changes like managing fluid intake and getting regular physical exercise.

If these lifestyle adjustments aren’t enough, second-line treatment options include medication and physical therapy to strengthen pelvic floor muscles. When urinary incontinence is severe, treatment could include placing a pessary, performing surgery, like a mid-urethral sling, or neuromodulation with Axonics®, InterStim™, or Urgent PC®.

Call The Cedar City Institute of Women's Health, or schedule a consultation online today to learn more about your treatment options for urinary incontinence.