SUI is a condition that is prevalent among women where the main characteristic is involuntary loss of urine during activities that put pressure on the bladder such as physical exertion, coughing, sneezing or laughing. This can affect your quality of life and can lead to a lot of discomfort.
SUI which is short for stress urinary incontinence occurs when you have a weakened urethral closure mechanism. This is due to changes in your pelvic floor region. These changes can be due to a number of factors such as obesity, childbirth and ageing. When you sneeze or cough, abdominal pressure is increased and the urethral closure mechanism will not be able to support the bladder sufficiently. This can lead to leakage of urine. If you have experienced multiple deliveries or traumatic births, it can stretch your pelvic floor muscles and tissues causing them to weaken. This will increase the risk of SUI. Ageing can also lead to the weakening of pelvic floor muscles and tissues which can lead to reduced control of your bladder. You go through many hormonal changes during menopause and these changes will affect the urinary tract as well. The urethral lining can undergo thinning and muscle tone can be decreased increasing your risk of SUI.
If you are overweight or obese, there is additionalpressure on your pelvic floor and bladder.
This can weaken the urethral support. There are also conditions that can causechronic coughing. Or you can be engaged in a job where you need to do heavy lifting. These activities can strain your pelvic floor muscles.The mainsymptom of SUI is involuntary leaking of urine when you are engaged in activities that increase abdominal pressure. This can be when you are sneezing, exercising, lifting etc. And you may also find that you need to urinate more frequently especially if you are engaged in increase physical activity. There will also be a sudden urge to urinate without any prior warning which can also be a symptom. You will also wake up frequently during the night to urinate. And this can actually disrupt your sleep.
The traditional treatments for this are strengthening
The pelvic floor muscles to improve your bladder control. These are known as Kegel exercises and these can benefit some women when they regularly do the exercises. This a non-invasive treatment method but the improvements from this can be marginal. There are also invasive treatments carried out such as placing a urethral sling surgically. This is basically a supportive sling that is placed beneath the urethra so that it is provided additional support. This can be an effective procedure but you need to be hospitalised for this and there is a recovery time to consider as well. There are also potentialcomplications which will be explained to you by your doctor. There are newer non-invasive solutions for SUI such as IncontiLase. This is a non-surgical treatment method that is quite effective compared to traditional methods. This uses laser technology in order to strengthen your pelvic floor tissues.
