Statistics show that 1 in 4 women over the age of 18 has experienced some episodes of involuntary leaking. Urinary incontinence can be a big nuisance and can happen for a number of reasons:

• Stress incontinence is the loss of urine with physical exertion or activity, coughing, sneezing, laughing, or even just changing your position.
• Urge incontinence is the loss of a large amount of urine with a very short warning and can be caused by environmental triggers.
• Urinary frequency or overactive bladder is an increased frequency of urination with increased urgency.
• Incontinence can also be a mixture of all of the above or maybe just occur during the night.

Pelvic floor dysfunction can include painful urination, difficultly initiating urination, unable to stop urine flow, unable to fully empty bladder, incontinence, pelvic pain, and excessive pelvic floor tone, scar tissue, and muscle dysfunction.

There is help available. Treatment is individualized for each patient. Generally, patients will be seen one time per week for 4-6 weeks but will be adjusted per each patient as needed. To receive therapy services for urinary incontinence, talk to your healthcare provider or call the Rehabilitation Department at 563-547-6361 during office hours or RHSHC at 563-547-2101 for more information.