Non-Surgical Therapy for Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence caused by an overactive bladder is also called urge incontinence. An uncontrollable, strong urge to urinate usually accompanies this form of urine leakage because the muscle of the bladder is contracting without the signal from you to empty your bladder. This urge sensation often occurs when washing dishes, or even at the sound of running water. If this strong need to urinate cannot be overcome, urinary leakage will occur. These symptoms can sometimes be controlled or significantly improved with medications that are generally well tolerated with the most common side effect being dry mouth. Women with closed angle glaucoma should not use these medications.

Overactive bladder symptoms can also often be treated without medication with simple dietary changes by eliminating foods that irritate the bladder.  Performing pelvic muscle exercises called Kegel exercises or learning to urinate on a schedule can help reduce the bladder muscle spasms of overactive bladder.

Stress incontinence is the loss of urine with some type of physical stress to the body as with a cough, sneeze, physical activity or laughing.  Sometimes urinary incontinence occurs because of an overactive bladder in the presence of stress urinary incontinence. This is termed mixed incontinence. Sometimes special tests called urodynamic studies (UDS) to be performed to determine the type of problem present before surgery is done to treat the urinary incontinence.