Stories of Interest

Coping with Urinary incontinence? This treatment may help you regain control.
July 21, 2009

As many as one in three women will deal with chronic bladder control problems, especially in their later years. The condition is frequently caused by weak pelvic floor muscles that no longer provide adequate support for the bladder and other pelvic organs. The muscles have simply lost normal tone, often due to childbirth, menopause, or aging. Fortunately for many of these women, help is available in the form of a non-invasive treatment that helps restore strength to the pelvic floor muscles.

The treatment is Pelvic Floor Therapy and it is offered at the Elkhart General Women’s Center. The Continence Nurses use biofeedback which helps you “see” your pelvic floor muscle activity during a pelvic muscle exercise or Kegel. A Kegel is a simple muscle contraction technique that, over time, can rebuild muscle strength and tone, resulting in improved support of the urethra (the tube that empties urine from the bladder).

The therapy also involves stimulating these muscles by administering mild electrical impulses, causing the muscles to contract. Over the course of the treatment series, which for most patients includes six to eight once-a-week, one-hour sessions, the muscles strengthen and continence is improved or completely restored.

According to Michelle Streb, RN, Continence Nurse, “This therapy has helped hundreds of Elkhart-area women achieve significant bladder control improvement. On a one-to-ten scale, with one representing the condition before treatment, most patients grade their improvement as a seven or eight. Word is spreading, and we’re now seeing patients from distant towns where this procedure is not yet available.”

The therapy is done in a comfortable, private setting. “It is a very safe and effective treatment for women struggling with symptoms of overactive bladder, urge, and stress urinary incontinence,” according to Jennifer Zmyslo, RN, Continence Nurse. Streb adds that the Elkhart General Continence Program is also available to men. “We have successfully helped men improve their bladder control following prostate surgery,” she says.

Pelvic Floor Therapy can also be used to treat women who experience falling organs or prolapses of the uterus, bladder, or bowel through the vaginal opening. Risk factors for pelvic organ prolapse include complicated childbirth deliveries, obesity, heavy lifting, chronic coughing, constipation, and genetic predisposition. Some patients may need medical intervention or surgery to correct the problem depending on severity.

For more information, please call the Continence Clinic at (574) 523-2751.