Did you know that 1 in 10 men will experience urinary incontinence (UI). No matter how light, you should not accept this as normal. You don’t have to live with it or suffer in silence. In most cases, bladder problems can be cured or better managed.
Signs and symptoms of bladder problems
- Difficulty starting the flow of urine, a slow flow or having to strain to empty your bladder
- Post-micturition dribble (commonly known as after dribble)
- Leaking urine with a cough, laugh, sneeze or physical activity
- Experiencing a sudden strong urge to pass urine with or without bladder leakage
- Worrying about your bladder impacting your daily routine or before leaving the house
- Waking more than once a night to go to the toilet
- Going more often than every 2-3 hours to empty your bladder
- Not feeling empty after urinating
- Recurrent urine infections
Common causes of bladder problems
- Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction – this can be either weakness, or tightness or both!
- An overactive bladder
- Prostate enlargement, which occurs in every male, may cause your flow to be slow, stop & start or cause urinary urgency
- Prostate cancer and post-prostatectomy surgery
- Bowel problems – in particular, constipation or incomplete emptying
- Poor fluid and toileting habits
- Obesity
- Neurological conditions
- Medications
How can physiotherapy help?
- Physiotherapy involves assessing all the potential contributing factors for your bladder concerns and can include:
- Pelvic floor muscle retraining
- Bladder calming strategies
- Gradually increasing the storage capacity or size of your bladder
- Fluid modifications
- Advice on common triggers of bladder urgency
- Optimising bowel health
- Exercise prescription