Other Incontinence Treatments

Treatment for Incontinence is determined by a number of factors, including the severity of the incontinence you suffer and your general state of health. Your doctor's goal is to determine which treatment approach is best suited to your specific condition and may include one or more of the following:

• Muscle Retraining - A series of exercises is sometimes used to help strengthen and learn to control the muscles involved in urination.
  
  Pelvic Floor Therapy involves muscle retraining with the aid of electrical stimulation. Learn more about Pelvic Floor Therapy here.



• Bladder Retraining - This often involves holding urine in for longer and longer periods of time to help stretch the bladder and increase the amount the bladder can hold.



• Manage stress in your life. Stress doesn't cause incontinence, but can make your symptoms worse. Ask the doctor about techniques to help you relax and relieve stress. Meditation, massage, and yoga are some possibilities. Exercise is an excellent way to help relieve stress. Walking and swimming are two good choices that may be comfortable enough for you to do regularly.

• Bladder Hydrodistention - A process that fills the bladder with fluid to stretch the walls. Some patients have relief from symptoms for some time after bladder hydrodistention to diagnose bladder conditions. If this is true for you, the doctor may choose to repeat the hydrodistention procedure as a form of treatment.



• Bladder Instillation - Also called a bladder wash or bath, bladder instillation may help relieve inflammation or repair the bladder's protective lining During this treatment, the bladder is filled with medications using a slender tube called a catheter. One or more types of medication may be used. The medication is held inside the bladder for a period of time (usually 15 to 30 minutes). Then the medication is urinated out or drained from the bladder through the catheter. Instillation treatments are often repeated several times over a period of two to three months.



• Bulking Agents - This involves the injection of a "bulking" agent (such as collagen) into urethral tissues to maintain closure of the urethra and, thus, prevent accidental leakage. This can be effective for those who are not good candidates for surgery.

Certain other types of treatments may be tried to help relieve your symptoms when pain is involved. Therapeutic massage of the abdominal muscles using heat or ice may help relieve pain. Acupuncture, the therapeutic use of needles, may also help relieve pain in some cases. Successful treatment begins with an accurate diagnosis, after which you and the expert, women's healthcare providers of the Urogynecology Center of Bloomington, Indiana can discuss your treatment options.