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Q. Is urinary
incontinence a natural part of aging?
A. No, it can happen at any age, and can be caused by many physical conditions. Many
causes of urinary incontinence are temporary and can be managed with simple treatment.
Other causes are not temporary, but in almost every case, conditions can be treated.
Q. Is it true that because of it’s social stigma, urinary incontinence is
vastly under diagnosed and underreported?
A. Yes, and due to that fact new guidelines are now being implemented to educate both the
public and health care providers to report these problems once they occur and to inform
that urinary incontinence is not inevitable or shameful but is a treatable or at least
manageable condition.
Q. Is urinary incontinence a disease?
A. No, urinary incontinence is a symptom of an underlying problem. Urinary incontinence
can be a sign of a bladder infection or more serious disease. But, once these conditions
have been ruled out by a physician, the source of the problem is likely to be weak pelvic
floor muscles.
Q. Can weak pelvic floor muscles be corrected?
A. Yes, qualified Physical Therapists are trained to rehabilitate these muscles and have a
variety of methods to teach patients how to correct a pelvic floor weakness. More
importantly, they can teach you how to exercise your pelvic floor muscles to prevent the
onset of urinary incontinence or help to reverse the process.
Q. How many ways can urinary incontinence be treated?
A. In one or more of three ways: behavioral techniques (with your physical therapist),
medication and surgery (with your physician).Q.
Are there any risks involved with the above treatments?
A. Behavioral techniques: none.
Medication: there is always a risk of having side effects (discuss with your physician).
Surgery: there is a possibility of a risk or complication (discuss with your physician).
Q. Is there any pain associated with the Physical Therapy programs for female
incontinence?
A. There may be some minor and very brief discomfort associated with some of the
procedures but the total program is pain free.
Q. What kind of success may I expect using Physical Therapy programs?
A. Recent studies have reported a range of 54-87 percent improvement in urinary
incontinence across various patient groups using behavioral techniques combined with
biofeedback.
Q. What is biofeedback?
A. The use of electronic or mechanical instruments to display
information about neuromuscular and/or bladder activity. By displaying this information on
a screen the patient is able to use the visual for better muscle control.
Q. Are Physical Therapy programs for urinary
incontinence covered by most Health Insurance Plans and/or eligible for Medicare
assistance?
A. Yes, your Physical Therapist will be pleased to assist with each individual application
for Health Insurance or Medicare. |
