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Significant Incontinence Treatment Advancements

Sometimes incontinence can reach a point to where you have to do more than just use incontinence products. One step is to take part in bladder retraining. Bladder retraining is a process in which a patient puts the bladder on a schedule.

This works by changing the amount of trips taken to the bathroom. This treatment is considered to be a behavioral method and is not intended for people with incontinence that’s caused by diseases or some other issues.

This method works by adding to the time between bathroom breaks. For example, if you see that you go to the bathroom every hour, push the length of time between trips to an hour and fifteen minutes. By slowing adding to the amount of time between bathroom breaks, you can retrain your bladder to go on a schedule.

Another way to treat incontinence is by doing pelvic floor exercises otherwise known as Kegels. The pelvic muscles are the support for your bladder. The pelvic muscles consist of tendons and connective tissue.

Among these muscles is the support for the vagina and urinary system. When these muscles get weak, it can lead to incontinence, but performing Kegels can give strength back to those muscles.

When you stop urinating mid-stream, that’s your pelvic muscle. Using this muscle, practice squeezing it throughout the day holding for a few seconds each time. Work up to four times a day holding for 7-12 seconds each repetition.

If Kegels don’t help with the incontinence, there are various surgeries that can be performed. And unlike years ago, many of these can be done on as an outpatient surgery. One surgery that’s done provides a pubovaginal sling.

A sling is applied loosely that holds the urethra and then tension is put on the sling to tighten it up and it gives the urethra support. Another surgery is called a bladder tuck and is just like it sounds. The bladder is tucked into place using either stitches or a mesh hammock.

Nerve stimulation or sacral neuromodulation is another type of surgery that can be done to correct incontinence. In this surgery a stimulator is implanted that can deliver an electric pulse that helps to control the urinary system.

One procedure that can be done that doesn’t require surgery and can be done as an outpatient procedure is to have the bladder injected with Botox. The same way that Botox works as a cosmetic enhancement is also the same way it works on the bladder. This procedure can last for up to twelve months but must be repeated and because it’s more widely known as a cosmetic procedure, you’ll have to pay all costs yourself.