Stress incontinence affects more women than men. This is because of the complex biological processes like pregnancy that women go through. In fact, the reproductive organs of women are also more complex than their male counterparts due to the same reason.  Although not predominantly a serious condition, sometimes urinary incontinence may also be a sign of an underlying condition. Therefore, none of the symptoms must be taken casually and you must make an appointment with a urologist in Miami for Stress Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis & Treatment Options if you are living in the South Florida area. In this article, we will be looking at how physiotherapy has been found helpful for women looking to manage the symptoms of stress incontinence.

Training of the Pelvic Floor Muscles

As far as ancient texts are concerned, training of the pelvic floor muscles had found its popularity long ago. This training has been mentioned in several texts of Indian subcontinent, Rome and ancient Greece. Exercising the pelvic floor muscles has no side effects. This is why it is the first choice of doctors in managing the condition of the stress incontinence. Studies suggest that pelvic floor muscle training or PFMT has been found effective for at least 50% of the women suffering from stress incontinence. The benefits are many:

1. The exercises improve the action of contraction of the pelvic floor muscles
2. Increase the intraurethral pressure
3. Help in elevating the urethra to help gain control over the muscles.
4. Helps in improving the responses of sacral reflexes

Before looking at ways to understand how this training can be done, it is useful to understand how strength training works. These exercises involve repetitively contracting and relaxing of specific pelvic floor muscles. Once we increase the intensity of these exercises as well as the number of repetitions in a periodic and gradual manner, pelvic floor muscles gain strength just as any other muscle of the body does. The striated muscles of the pelvic floor improve by generating a greater amount of force per contraction, enduring a single contraction for an extended period of time and an overall improvement in coordination of the two- contraction and relaxation. In the people suffering from urinary incontinence, the support to the neck of the bladder and proximal urethra is less than ideal which is what results in leakage. Continued training of the pelvic floor muscles also results in stronger support to these two and therefore better management of the symptoms.

Let us now look at some of the exercises that can be done. They may be performed initially in front of a physiotherapist so as to gain maximum out of your training. However, once you have mastered the techniques, you may carry out these exercises yourself.

1. Locate your pelvic floor muscles. Lie down and see which muscles are in action when you try to stop the flow of urine.
2. Position yourself in any of the following ways- kneel down, sit comfortably, stand upright, lie down straight or lie down with your legs spread on either side.
3. Begin by contracting the muscles identified in step number 1 for a total of 10-15 times. It is important to breathe normally and not loosen or tighten any other muscle be it stomach, thigh or bottom.
4. Try holding each contraction for a few seconds before relaxing.
5. Gradually increase the number of contractions week wise and go upto 200.
6. You can bring variation in the postures while carrying out this exercise.

You will begin noticing a difference in your pelvic control in the first couple of months, however it is best not to stop exercising once you do that. You must dedicatedly continue your exercises.

Electrical Stimulation

Another technique popular with the physiotherapists is the electrical stimulation of pelvic floor muscles. Many women initially encounter difficulty in training their pelvic floor muscles due to acute symptoms of urinary incontinence. This is where electrical stimulation comes into play. Here are the benefits:

1. Electrical stimulation results in muscle hypertrophy which is the increase in the number and growth of muscle cells
2. It is increases the functioning of sacral reflexes
3. Increases the blood circulation to the muscles and capillary system

In this process, a wire electrode is implanted in one of the eight irregular openings known as sacral foramina which is in turn connected to a stimulator device. The targeted muscles are then stimulated and strengthened over a number of sessions as per the advice of the doctor. If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, you should contact a urologist for Stress Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis & Treatment Options. Most patients often find relief with these suggested measures without the need for surgery.