HELP FOR INCONTINENCE AT STATE 11

Urinary incontinence is when you unintentionally pass urine (pee). It's a common condition that is often extremely distressing for the men and women who have it.

There's four main types of incontinence

​

• Stress incontinence - leaking or dribbling of urine when the bladder is under pressure (or stress). This might mean you unintentionally pee when coughing, laughing running or doing some kind of exercise. It's not related to mental stress.

• Urge incontinence - a sudden, uncontrollable urge to urinate at the same time, or just after, urination.

• Overflow incontinence - an inability to completely empty the bladder, which causes frequent leaks.

• Total incontinence - when the bladder can't store any urine at all.

What causes incontinence?

 

Stress incontinence is described by the NHS as being caused by "weakening or damage to the muscles used to prevent urination, such as the pelvic floor muscles". This is a very common explanation, with the advice being to "strengthen the pelvic floor muscles" through Kegal or pelvic floor strengthening exercises.

​

Why Kegals don't always help incontinence

 

The pelvic floor is a web of powerful muscles that cover the big hole in the middle of the pelvis. It is designed to both slightly contract - or move upwards (on breathing out), and slightly expand - or move downwards, (on breathing in). Exercises such as kegals help the pelvic floor contract, or tighten, but this can be problematic as this means the pelvic floor becomes tighter, and cannot move downwards.

​

It might be easier to imagine being given exercises to strengthen your bicep - if those exercises simply taught you to contract the bicep all the time, as soon as you tried to pick something up (which would involve extending the bicep), the bicep would fail to work as you'd expect, because it was actually weak, and you wouldn't be able to pick up the item at all.

​

The pelvic floor muscles are the same. By simply working on contracting the muscles of the pelvic floor, when they need to extend, such as when supporting the bladder during movement or stress, it will fail, and urine leakage will result.

​

Pelvic floor muscles need to move

 

In order to work properly, your pelvic floor muscles need to contract and relax, not just contract. So if you're continually practising pelvic floor lifts or Kegal exercises, but still suffering with stress incontinence, it may be that your pelvic floor muscles are too "tight".

​

How we can help you stop stress incontinence

 

By working the muscles of the pelvic floor, and helping them relax, we can help the pelvic floor work as it should. Treatment of your pelvic floor muscles at State 11doesn't involve you needing to get undressed or any internal work by yourself or your therapist - instead we access the muscles by applying pressure through the gluteal muscles.

 

We may also work along your diaphragm, the large band of muscle that separates your lungs from your digestive system. The diaphragm works with your pelvic floor muscles to maintain your core, and it can also be linked to stress incontinence.

 

Reversing stress incontinence and creating a better functioning pelvic floor will require some exercising at home for full resolution - but we'll show you exactly what to do (and it doesn't involve "clenching" or trying to "hold your pee"!).

​

Get help for your incontinence without embarrassment

​

At State 11, we understand that incontinence can be embarrassing and difficult to talk about, and that there are lots of "cures" out there.

 

Why not contact us for a no obligation chat and find out how we can help you today!