Exercise & Treatments for Managing Incontinence

Exercises and devices can help urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence, while embarrassing, does not have to be emotionally straining.  There are many ways to manage urinary incontinence, including using the proper incontinenceunderwear and/or other incontinence supplies that work for you. In addition to these, there are some exercises and devices that can help.

There are several types of incontinence, and the condition has several causes. Particularly in women, urinary incontinence is not necessarily a sign of poor health or aging. For women, incontinence could be caused by structural damage to a woman's bladder or urethra, which could be a result of a urinary tract infection or a byproduct of child birth. Urinary incontinence can also be caused by damage to the central nervous system.

Stress incontinence is when a leakage occurs because of sneezing, laughing, coughing, or other abrupt physical activities. For this type of incontinence, the use of incontinence pads is usually sufficient. However, pelvic floor exercises, sometimes referred to as Kegel exercises, can be useful in helping to control this type of incontinence. These types of exercises are designed to help a person strengthen the muscles used when a person tries to hold in urine.

Kegel exercises are useful for urge incontinence, as well. Urge incontinence is when a person is afflicted with a heightened sense of urgency around the sensation of having to urinate, as well as a greater frequency of urination. A person feels the urge to urinate, but he or she usually fails to make it to the restroom in time. Adult diapers are a better product in this case, as far as incontinence supplies go, but there are several surgical and nonsurgical treatment options available for urgency incontinence, as well.

A new device called the NeoControl utilizes magnetic pulses to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. Biofeedback is another noninvasive option, in which the condition of the muscles of the pelvic floor can be assessed. Kegel exercises alone are often enough for strengthening the pelvic floor, though there are many devices on the Internet geared towards this cause, as well. There are vaginal weights, cones, and rods, all of which can be found on the Internet with a simple Google search.

Through the use of the proper incontinence supplies and proper treatments, incontinence does not have to be an emotional disaster. One can still live a full, rich, fulfilling life.

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About The CareGiver Partnership. The CareGiver Partnership helps caregivers and their loved ones with answers to their caregiving questions, including information about home health care products and supplies, from our Wisconsin-based team of Product Specialists who are all current or former caregivers. The company’s Web site provides the largest online library of resources on subjects most important to caregivers — from arthritis to assisted living, and Parkinson’s to prostate cancer — as well as access to more than 3,000 home care products for incontinence, skin care, mobility, home safety and daily living aids. The CareGiver Partnership was founded in 2004 by Lynn Wilson of Neenah, Wisc. Visithttp://www.caregiverpartnership.com to learn more or call 1-800-985-1353.

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