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How do I Stop My Child From Wetting the Bed at Night? Tips

If you are wondering how do I stop my child from wetting the bed at night and need tips, we’ve got you covered in this article. Additionally, as you read through the tips to help stop wetting the bed, if you are overwhelmed or have no idea how to help the things we talk about, have you considered physical therapy with a pediatric bladder and bowel specialist? We can help you! Read on for specific tips to help stop wetting the bed at night.

We’ve got you covered, parents, in this article with tips to help your child stop wetting the bed at night. When exploring solutions to help your child stop wetting the bed at night, we recommend you consider physical therapy with a pediatric bladder and bowel specialist. Here at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we specialize in helping kids who have bladder or bowel problems, including helping children to stop wetting the bed at night. Read on for some tips to help your child’s bedwetting and reach out to us here to ask us questions about our natural and effective treatments with our licensed physical therapists or call us at (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

Our pediatric bladder and bowel licensed physical therapists help children (ages 4-18+) stop wetting the bed at night by using natural and safe approaches that improve their bladder and bowel control, strengthen their core muscles, retrain their pelvic floor muscles, teach optimal bladder and bowel habits and address constipation.

To stop bedwetting, one tip is that a comprehensive approach that addresses posture, core, daytime bladder habits, eating and drinking habits, breathing, toileting behaviors, sleep routines and bowel habits is needed. Rarely is there one simple thing to implement to resolve bedwetting. There are many things that physical therapy can offer your child to provide a real solution that is safe, natural and optimizes your child’s bladder and bowel control. And one bonus is physical therapy uses the power of your child’s own body and habits to resolve their bedwetting, therefore, there are no harmful side effects like you may experience with pharmaceuticals. We love talking to parents and learning about your needs to help your child’s bedwetting; feel free to contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

Tips for parents who want to help their child stop bedwetting!

Our physical therapy to help kids who bed wet offers you and your child a safe, comprehensive and holistic approach to improve bladder control. If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

Why is my child wetting the bed? Parents, monitor your child’s:

  • Tip 1 to help stop wetting the bed at night: Monitor your child’s bowel movements

Look for signs or constipation. Do they have large stools? Do they have stomach aches? Do they have bloating? Are bowel movements painful? Do they avoid defecating? Any constipation needs to be addressed to resolve wetting the bed. Our physical therapist is able to help you and your child improve constipation using physical therapy therapeutic methods that include diet, clean-out protocols, exercise, teaching your child effective toileting routines and strategies, pelvic floor muscle training and more. If your child has constipation, the bladder can be challenged to hold urine at night. If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy to improve your child’s constipation or bowel movement regularity and to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 2: Sleep habits. Are there any irregularities?

Track your child’s sleep habits and look for trends in their schedule that link to wetting the bed. Monitor their snoring, look for signs of sleep apnea, watch for them being restless in bed. Consider having your child checked for a tongue tie by a qualified dentist, as this can impair breathing and influence bedwetting. Children’s bodies, including bladder control at night, respond well to consistency in routines, including bedtime routines and eating and drinking hours. Research supports that kids who wet the bed often have sleep disturbances.

“Sleep questionnaires showed that children with enuresis had more sleep problems than controls, especially parasomnias, breathing disorders, and daytime sleepiness.”

-Fernandes AER, Roveda JRC, Fernandes CR, Silva DF, de Oliveira Guimarães IC, Lima EM, de Carvalho Mrad FC, de Almeida Vasconcelos MM. Relationship between nocturnal enuresis and sleep in children and adolescents. Pediatr Nephrol. 2022 Nov 24.

  • Tip 3 to help stop wetting the bed at night: Does your child have core weakness?

Some children who wet the bed lack strength and coordination in their core muscles, which has a link to bladder and bowel control challenges. We’ve worked with children who are strong in their limbs, but lack core control. One thing we notice is that kids with core weakness have non-optimal posture, which changes the angle of their pelvis and pelvic floor muscles. Because these muscles are important to bladder and bowel control, lack of core strength and altered posture are key components of our physical therapy for kids who wet the bed. Our physical therapists evaluate every child’s core strength, coordination, posture and breathing and creates a rehabilitation plan of care that will improve this for your child. To inquire about our physical therapy program that includes a full evaluation of your child’s core strength, posture and neuromotor control to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 4: Could pelvic floor muscle dysfunction be contributing to your child’s bedwetting?

Kids can have pelvic floor muscle problems causing them to not empty their bladder or bowel completely during the day. We often find that kids who wet the bed hold in their bowel movements, which can cause tension in the pelvic floor and difficulty emptying the bowels. We also find that kids incorrectly tighten up their pelvic floor muscles when they should be relaxing them to allow for urinating and defecating. Our gentle (external) biofeedback and corrective exercise based approach will help your child learn where their pelvic floor muscles are located and learn how to better control them. If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 5: Does your child experience daytime urinary issues, such as urgency, frequency or not urinating often enough?

Research has found that kids who experience urinary incontinence (enuresis) often also have daytime urinary urgency and urinary retention, reflecting that their bladder is struggling with daytime control; these kids tend to have challenges with nighttime bladder control. When working with kids who are wetting the bed, we must address any daytime bladder symptoms. Often these children are experiencing challenges with their bladder during the day. We recommend you pay attention to your child’s daytime bladder habits in terms of how often they urinate, whether they have urgency and frequency, experience any pain or ignore the urge to urinate. Our physical therapists will design an effective treatment program to help your child’s daytime and nighttime bladder control. Parents often have questions about what is involved with this physical therapy, feel free to contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members. One study into bladder control of children 7 years of age found:

“The prevalence of enuresis (involuntary loss of urine) was 10.6%;11.7% in males and 9.3% in females…. The most common urinary symptoms were urinary urgency (22.7%) and urinary retention maneuvers (38.2%). ”

-Denise M. Mota, Aluisio J.D. Barros, Alicia Matijasevich, Iná S. Santos, Prevalence of enuresis and urinary symptoms at age 7 years in the 2004 birth cohort from Pelotas, Brazil, Jornal de Pediatria, Volume 91, Issue 1, 2015, Pages 52-58.

  • Tip 6 to help stop wetting the bed at night: Does your child fully empty their bladder during the day?

Kids who wet the bed often do not fully empty their bladder during the day, therefore, to achieve dry nights we need to improve daytime bladder function. Our patients often lack the ability to fully empty their bladder. We find some young children are rushing and have learned to not sit and relax on the toilet to facilitate complete emptying. In physical therapy, we foster complete emptying of the bladder, so we practice with your child how to let go of the pelvic floor muscles and patiently allow the bladder to fully empty. If you suspect your child may not be emptying their bladder fully during the day, working with our licensed physical therapist can help your child learn effective bladder and bowel control. Contact us here to inquire about cost and availability of our PT or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 7: Is your child’s daily water intake sufficient?

We like to see a consistent intake of water throughout the day to help your child to experience multiple complete bladder filling, holding & emptying stages. At night your bladder needs to be able to fill up and hold urine without emptying. If they have constipation or poor daytime bladder habits, then stopping wetting the bed at night becomes a challenge. Often the children we treat are not drinking enough water throughout the day. Some kids also drink fluids, such as Gatorade, that have additives like artificial colors that bother bladders. Our physical therapists serve as a helpful sounding board and provide guidance to parents and kids to reenforce optimal water intake. Parents often tell us that their child will not drink water; we find that having our PT work with your child to facilitate improved water intake can be a useful means of improving this habit. To inquire about our physical therapy program that includes a full evaluation of your child’s core strength, posture and neuromotor control to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 8: Watch your child’s dietary habits, including chewing, fiber and timing of meals

Because children who wet the bed at night often have constipation, it is important to look at their dietary habits to promote effective, daily bowel movements. To help your child stop wetting the bed, we recommend eating a complete breakfast each day, toileting after breakfast, intake of adequate fiber, drinking enough water and getting sufficient exercise. Chewing food to the consistency of applesauce can ease the process of breaking down food in your intestines. Chewing is a surprising sleeper of a habit to improve to help your child to stop wetting the bed at night. If you would like to work with our licensed PT to learn a comprehensive method of addressing bedwetting, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 9: Does your child hold in bowel movements (withholding) or not perceive the need to defecate? 

Children who hold in their bowel movements or avoid the bathroom are developing constipation. This constipation will bother their bladder and cause it to empty when they sleep and may also contribute to daytime frequency, wetting the bed at night or during the day or a constant sense of needing to pee. If you are aware that your child is not going to the bathroom when they need to, work diligently to stop this problem. Withholding stool is a big contributor to wetting the bed at night. Quite often the child simply does not feel the urge to defecate. Our biofeedback, exercises and methods to help your child tend to the signal to empty their bowels can greatly improve bedwetting. To speak with one of our team members about our physical therapy program that includes a full evaluation of your child’s bowel habits, straining, withholding, pain, core strength, posture and neuromotor control to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 10 to help stop wetting the bed: Empty your bladder fully before going to bed

This may seem obvious that to help your child stop wetting the bed at night, they should empty their bladder before bed. However, it isn’t that easy to monitor as they grow up. When your child who wets the bed is young you can monitor this well by encouraging them to relax and empty their bladder before bed. But, once you have an adolescent or teenager who wets the bed, this is more difficult to monitor. Establishing a routine of emptying the bladder before bed is a helpful measure towards stopping wetting the bed. You would be surprised by how many of our patients do not empty their bladder before going to bed, so please look at your child’s habits. When you work with our PT you and your child will be fully supported to begin to develop better habits that help stop wetting the bed. Contact us here to inquire about cost or availability of our PT or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

  • Tip 11: Getting treatment started when they are younger can alleviate a lot of the stress and shame around bedwetting

There’s no reason to wait, when there is physical therapy to help your child. Most of the time parents tell us that they never heard of this PT for bedwetting. While it is not commonly known about, our licensed PTs have advanced training specific to helping promote appropriate developmental control of the bladder and bowel. And everything we offer is natural and safe, without relying on pharmaceuticals. While most of us adults take bladder and bowel control for granted, it turns out that it is actually a very complicated neuromotor control system and physical therapy can help your child. To work with our physical therapists, we begin care with an evaluation to determine what is going on with your child and how we can best help you and your child. Call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here to learn more.

If my child wets the bed, when should I begin treatment?

If you or your child are perceiving bedwetting to be a problem or bothersome, it is a good time to begin treatment. We recommend that any child ages 5 or older who wets the bed, come see our physical therapist for treatment. For children who have developmental challenges or if parents perceive some motor control or coordination challenges, it can be beneficial to begin physical therapy younger than five years old. Our pediatric bladder & bowel licensed physical therapists offer comprehensive, natural treatments that include exercise, developmentally appropriate games that facilitate bladder and bowel control as well as motor coordination, pelvic floor muscle training, biofeedback, instructions for parents, constipation mitigation, dietary recommendations, and more. By beginning treatment at a younger age you can spare your child and household from dealing with wetting the bed. Parents have told us that our treatments for bedwetting, enuresis and encopresis give peace of mind, direction and helpful insights into their child’s pelvic floor control, posture, strength, bowel and bladder habits, chewing, diet and bedwetting. If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members. When the parent and child come for a physical therapy evaluation, each child’s care is individualized to their needs and history and we include considerations such as the following:

“The most important comorbid conditions to take into account are psychiatric disorders, constipation, urinary tract infections and snoring or sleep apneas. Constipation and daytime incontinence, if present, should be treated.”

-Nevéus T, Fonseca E, Franco I, Kawauchi A, Kovacevic L, Nieuwhof-Leppink A, Raes A, Tekgül S, Yang SS, Rittig S. Management and treatment of nocturnal enuresis-an updated standardization document from the International Children’s Continence Society. J Pediatr Urol. 2020 Feb;16(1):10-19.

If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

When asking yourself how do I stop my child from wetting the bed at night and looking for tips such as these, we know many parents are also quietly worried about the psychological impact that the shame of bedwetting can cause their child.

Research into the mental health impact of wetting the bed (nocturnal enuresis) has found that is causes distress and low self-esteem for the child. We find that kids who improve their bedwetting come back to their follow up physical therapy appointments with big smiles and proud of their accomplishment. The older kids we have worked with confide it is a huge relief to finally get this problem resolved. Parents tell our physical therapists that they worry about their child’s bedwetting causing them to be ridiculed, if it were known by peers. We have worked with parents for whom the bedwetting has caused problems within the adult relationship, possibly from one parent perceiving they handle all of the laundry and monitoring of the child’s bladder issues, while the other parent is perceived to not be equally participating in resolving this problem. If you or your child are experiencing some of these issues, please understand that you are not alone; wetting the bed is a common problem and our specialist physical therapist can help you and your child gain control over their bladder. For more information about our physical therapy treatment to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

The kids who come to us for physical therapy to help their bedwetting experience a positive and uplifting environment that makes them feel good about themselves.

We use developmentally appropriate games, movements, and fun exercises, for example, that allow your child to develop the needed body control to improve bedwetting. You and your child will work privately with your licensed physical therapist for the entire appointment; we never leave you or your child to work with another patient and we don’t expect you to work with lesser trained staff. Your child’s success is our focus for the entire appointment. We are physical therapists who specialize in adult and children’s bladder, bowel and pelvic conditions. The treatment we use for kids are different than adults, because their needs and developmental stages are quite different than adults. To learn more about our physical therapy treatment to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

The impact of successful treatment for nocturnal enuresis has been analyzed and children who are able to improve bedwetting and gain control over when they empty their bladder showed both improved behavior and personality scores.

These tips give you an idea of things to address when asking yourself how do I stop my child from wetting the bed at night. Initiating treatment sooner for kids who wet the bed has been found to prevent the negative effects on self-esteem and mental health, it also helps favor normal development of the child, including social development and brings relief to the entire household. Current recommendations are to begin treatment sooner, rather than waiting because the psychologic impacts are so detrimental.  If you would like to take the first step to helping your child stop wetting the bed, contact us here to see if we may be able to help or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

Because bedwetting is not openly discussed among friends and family, sometimes the child and parent may feel frustrated when bedwetting continues into the school age years. We know it is difficult to figure out how to help your child stop wetting the bed at night.

Our pediatric bladder and bowel PT has taken years of post-doctoral training to help you and your child. If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy to help stop your child from wetting the bed, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

We hope this information helps you have an idea of how to stop your child from wetting the bed at night and the tips are a helpful place to begin.

We know it can be a lonely road for children and frustrating for parents to figure out tip for how to stop your child from wetting the bed at night. Our pediatric bladder and bowel physical therapists are here to help you. We have worked with children of all ages, including adolescents who want to go to sleep-overs, high schoolers who wet the bed who are anxious about getting a college roommate, and kids under ten years of age who wet the bed. We’ve also worked with young, married men who wet the bed. Because we specialize in pelvic health and bladder and bowel control for adults and children, you can expect specialized care that is designed to help you achieve your goals. Bedwetting can benefit from the natural and safe methods our physical therapists use. We partner with parents to help resolve wetting the bed for kids who struggle with this issue. You can expect private appointments with your doctor of physical therapy and a one-on-one setting, with both parent and child present for all treatment. We teach both the parent and child numerous strategies, techniques, habits, dietary changes and exercises to perform to help stop wetting the bed. If you would like to learn more about our PT to help bedwetting, you can contact us here with your questions or call 616-516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable team members.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy. Specialist in pelvic health, TMJ disorders, neck and back pain. All of our physical therapists specialize in pelvic health, bladder and bowel control.

To inquire about our physical therapy program to stop wetting the bed, including our comprehensive evaluation of your child’s core strength, toileting habits, constipation, posture and neuromotor control to help your child, contact us here to ask us a question or call (616) 516-4334 to talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.

Because you are wondering how do I stop my child from wetting the bed at night and are looking for tips, you may be interested in these other articles we’ve written:

Why is My Child’s Poop So Big?

Why Does My Ten Year Old Wet The Bed?

Tips to Fix Incontinence Naturally

9 Tips That You Need Pelvic Floor Therapy

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

What Does TMJ Physical Therapy Help?

Physical Therapy for Neck Pain and Headaches

Does Chewing Help Constipation?

References for how to stop your child from wetting the bed at night and tips for parents:

Fernandes AER, Roveda JRC, Fernandes CR, Silva DF, de Oliveira Guimarães IC, Lima EM, de Carvalho Mrad FC, de Almeida Vasconcelos MM. Relationship between nocturnal enuresis and sleep in children and adolescents. Pediatr Nephrol. 2022 Nov 24.

Hodges, S.J. Modified O’Regan Protocol for Overactive Bladder. Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep 11, 201–204 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-016-0379-y

Denise M. Mota, Aluisio J.D. Barros, Alicia Matijasevich, Iná S. Santos, Prevalence of enuresis and urinary symptoms at age 7 years in the 2004 birth cohort from Pelotas, Brazil, Jornal de Pediatria, Volume 91, Issue 1, 2015, Pages 52-58.

Nevéus T, Fonseca E, Franco I, Kawauchi A, Kovacevic L, Nieuwhof-Leppink A, Raes A, Tekgül S, Yang SS, Rittig S. Management and treatment of nocturnal enuresis-an updated standardization document from the International Children’s Continence Society. J Pediatr Urol. 2020 Feb;16(1):10-19.

Why Does My Ten Year Old Wet The Bed?

If you are wondering why your ten year old child wets the bed, you are not alone!

You have found the right place if you are a parent in search of a solution for your child’s bedwetting, daytime involuntary urination (enuresis) or constipation (encopresis).  We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy and our pediatric voiding dysfunction program is designed to provide kids who wet the bed (ages 4 years and up) customized, natural therapy to resolve their bladder and bowel issues.  Our licensed physical therapists have advanced post-doctoral training in pediatric bladder and bowel voiding dysfunction, bedwetting, constipation and pelvic floor dysfunction.  We are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and offer in-person treatment or remote consultations to those who qualify. To talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If you have a ten year old who is frustrated and embarrassed about wetting the bed, help is right here for you!  We are a specialty bladder and bowel physical therapy clinic treating children who have voiding problems, including kids who may be experiencing bedwetting after four years of age.

In this article we share insights into pediatric bedwetting, when it becomes a problem, why a ten year old may be wetting the bed and what you can do about it.   We know that bedwetting is a challenging problem for both parents and your child and can be embarrassing and limiting to social interactions.  Our licensed physical therapists offer you and your child comprehensive treatment to resolve bedwetting and improve your child’s strength, bladder control, constipation and ability to participate in social events like sleep overs.

If you have questions about your child’s bladder or bowel condition and whether pediatric physical therapy for bedwetting may help your child, you can talk with one of our knowledgeable team members by calling  616-516-4334 or contact us here. 

Bedwetting is treatable and does respond to physical therapy!   Here at Purple Mountain PT our caring, licensed physical therapists reduce parents’ stress around their child’s bladder and bowel struggles while providing your child a positive, encouraging place to receive treatment for their bedwetting or daytime pee accidents.  Sometimes parents tell us that they thought their child’s problem was genetic and there was nothing that could be done about it.  This couldn’t be further from the truth and we explain more about this down below!   Even if there is a family history of bedwetting, your child shouldn’t be expected to deal with bedwetting for years when there is effective care available.  Contact us here to ask about cost and availability of treatment.

At what age should I expect my child to be able to sleep through the night without wetting the bed?  Why is my ten year old wetting the bed sometimes, is this normal?  Our PT helps clear up all of your questions!  

There is no absolute age by which we have to insist a child be fully in control of their bladder, but by 4 years of age most kids do not wet the bed.  Our physical therapists recommend treatment for any child who is bedwetting and is older than 4 years of age. When searching for answers as to why a ten year old, or any child older than 4, is wetting the bed, we must look at your child’s daytime bladder and bowel habits.   

We should never punish a child for bedwetting and should not make a child feel badly, ashamed or less accomplished simply because they are wetting the bed.  A ten year old who wets the bed is not doing it due to laziness, instead the “why” behind their bedwetting will be discovered with your physical therapist.

When a child sleeps and wets the bed, they quite literally have no control over their bladder. Punishment is not helpful and is not appropriate.

Bedwetting, even at ten years old or 15 or 17 or 21 years, is not intentional and is not because your child is at fault.   They are not bedwetting to defy a parent’s wishes or to be naughty.  They are bedwetting for many reasons including things such as impairments or delays in their body’s bladder control system, pelvic floor muscle coordination, bowel regularity (especially constipation) and bladder & bowel habits.  Please be gentle with your bedwetting child.  If you are asking yourself why your ten year old wets the bed, it is most definitely NOT because they are doing it on purpose.  Research has found that bedwetting carries with it psychological impacts on the child, so feeling diminished or punished by a parent for bedwetting that they cannot control is not useful or effective.  Instead, look to a well-trained medical provider, such as our pediatric bladder and bowel physical therapists, to give you and your child guidance for how to improve your child’s bladder control when sleeping.  If you are frustrated with ongoing bedwetting and have some questions about our physical therapy, call our office at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If your child has special developmental needs and is younger than 4 years of age, but may need more intensive help with potty training (such as a child who is autistic),  you may benefit from starting physical therapy earlier than 4 years of age to begin the support and PT treatment that can benefit your child’s bladder and bowel control development.  For a child who has developmental delays, waiting until they are ten years old to try to find out why they are wetting the bed is counter-productive.  It would be better to start earlier.  

At 5-7 years old, approximately 15-20% of kids wet the bed. 

By 10 years old, this reduces to 5%. 

At 15 years of age and older, 1-2% of children still wet the bed.

While it is encouraging to see that bedwetting reduces over the years, it is important to understand that bedwetting is treatable and that getting treatment at a younger age will improve quality of life, mental health, sleep habits, bowel regularity, stretched-out colon adaptations and bladder function. If your child is older than four years and is bedwetting, our pediatric bedwetting physical therapy treatment, from a licensed doctor of physical therapy, offers your child comprehensive treatment and support for the parents to help optimize your child’s bladder and bowel control.  We treat kids of all ages, including kids who are ten years old and bedwetting or kids who are graduating high school and eager to learn why they are wetting the bed and how to stop bedwetting so they can go to college and have a roommate.  If you are interested in getting information about our pediatric bladder and bowel PT program, call 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

While it may be tempting to simply say “let’s see how this goes and wait for my child to outgrow bedwetting”, we know that the negative self-esteem that develops with bedwetting can be avoided if treatment begins sooner, rather than helplessly waiting and hoping your child will outgrow this and eventually experience dry nights.

Why does your ten year old wet the bed?  Have you considered that it is likely that your child is constipated and this is contributing to bladder problems, including bedwetting?

There are numerous reasons a ten year old is wetting the bed and the first thing to consider is where they are constipated

Constipation. Constipation. Constipation is a strong reason why your ten year old may be wetting the bed.  Don’t underestimate this one!  

What does constipation have to do with the bladder and wetting the bed?  A lot!

Because the bowel and bladder are located next to each other, if the bowel is filled up with constipated stool it can be bothering its nextdoor neighbor, the bladder, and causing bladder spasms or incomplete emptying of the bladder.  Copious amounts of stool backed up in the colon place pressure on the bladder and prevent the bladder from filling up as much as it should or cause the bladder to spasm and empty when it should not be emptying.   The large quantity of stool in a colon can also make it so that the bladder does not fully empty its urine.  This incomplete emptying of the bladder can result in bladder dysfunction and wetting the bed at night.  Also, the muscles and nerves that control the bladder are closely related to those that control bowel movements.  For all of these reasons, the bladder and bowel are considered “dancing partners” and each influences the other tremendously.  This is true in adults, but is more obvious and true in kids who wet the bed.

Constipation in kids tends to be caused by holding in stool.  Withholding stool occurs when your child does not go to the toilet and empty their bowels when they need to.  They might not go because they fear it will hurt, they might avoid the toilet because they don’t want to stop their fun playing, they might not go because they don’t feel an urge to go.  Whatever is causing their withholding, our physical therapists help you and your child figure it out and begin to pass bowel movements without pain.

It is important to treat your child’s constipation first if we want to get their bedwetting or other bladder symptoms resolved.  

Constipation is a driving cause of bedwetting.  If your child is older than 4 years, such as a ten year old who wets the bed every night, and you are wondering why they are wetting the bed, you must assume your child is constipated until that is absolutely proven to not be the case.

Constipation happens if stool stays in the colon for too long or moves too slowly through the colon. To prevent bedwetting it is recommended that parents be aware of their child’s bowel movement habits, shape of their stool and tendency towards constipation. When the stool stays inside too long, fluid is reabsorbed by the body, making the stool very dry and can be painful to pass.  This pain can cause fear of bowel movements and lead to withholding.  If you suspect your child is holding in their stool, call us to learn more about our pediatric voiding dysfunction PT program: 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If your child is withholding their stool, punishment and coaxing them to use the toilet often are ineffective and simply serve to frustrate the parent and make the child feel badly.  Instead your child would benefit from physical therapy to teach them how to recognize that they need to defecate (they usually don’t know what the urge to have a bowel movement feels like) and to learn how to pass stool by opening the passageway and releasing their pelvic floor muscles (Our PTs will teach them how to do this, usually they have mixed-up pelvic floor muscle control).  Many parents are surprised to learn that one reason why their ten year old is wetting the bed is that they are not having daily, complete bowel movements.  Our pediatric voiding dysfunction physical therapist will also talk to your child about dietary choices and proper chewing habits, so that their digestion and gut health can be optimized as they are working to reduce constipation.

Our pediatric bedwetting and voiding dysfunction physical therapy program offers a comprehensive and natural approach for addressing kids bladder and bowel dysfunction so that wetting the bed can stop.

We provide your child (and parents) a private, one-on-one appointment that may consist of a variety of physical therapy treatment modalities that are developmentally appropriate for your child.  We create physical therapy that is fun and enjoyable for your child, while achieving their goals of improved bladder and bowel control and while teaching your child proper habits.  Our physical therapy for bedwetting, pediatric urinary urgency and frequency, urinary holding, recurrent urinary tract infections and stool accidents may include biofeedback, exercises, games, methods to help your child recognize the signals that they need to defecate or urinate, the M.O.P. protocol, dietary recommendations, toileting posture practice, breathing exercises, pelvic floor muscle retraining and other interventions that help facilitate your child’s bladder and bowel control development.  If you would like to learn more, contact us here.

To speak with one of our team members about our pediatric bedwetting physical therapy services, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here. We are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and because we specialize in providing solutions and effective treatment for pediatric bedwetting, you can be assured you are working with professionals who have helped countless children overcome wetting the bed and other bladder and bowel problems.

Our physical therapist is trained in the M.O.P. program, an enema-based protocol to resolve your child’s constipation, stretched out colon (the colon can shrink back to normal size, but it takes time), bedwetting and urine and stool accidents that occur during the day.

Treating and resolving constipation has at least two stages:

  1.  The clean out stage.  In this stage all of the retained stool needs to be defecated so your child’s colon is emptied and has an opportunity to begin to heal and a fresh start to work on achieving daily, complete bowel movements.  In the clean out phase the M.O.P. regime can be your best opportunity, especially if your child has considerable constipation.  Implementing the M.O.P. program can be overwhelming and confusing.  Our licensed physical therapist will customize your child’s physical therapy to help bedwetting based on your child’s evaluation findings.
  2. The maintenance phase of healing.  In this phase, which takes 6-12 months, your child is healing the bowel and bladder, over time, by keeping the colon cleaned out and adhering to the other exercises, techniques, toileting habits, chewing habits, fluid intake habits or methods that your physical therapist has taught your child to optimize their bladder and bowel control.

We understand that when you have a ten year old who wets the bed and you want to know why this is happening and would like a do-able plan and program to support your child, it can be overwhelming for the parent.

Our physical therapist is here to provide you complete, wrap-around support.   We don’t simply give you a confusing paper with a written protocol.  Instead, we teach you what to do, we generate buy-in from your child, we work on improving your child’s voiding posture, breathing, pelvic floor coordination, habits, strength and more.  In short, we are here to be the partner you wished you had, to take the guesswork and frustration out of the process and to ensure your child’s success at cleaning out their colon.  Often you may have questions about how to modify it, whether your child’s experience is normal when undertaking the regime and how to tell if you need to increase or decrease your M.O.P. routine.

The M.O.P. program  is endorsed by the Mayo Clinic’s pediatric urology department and can resolve your child’s daytime pee accidents (enuresis) as well as poop accidents (encopresis).  The M.O.P regime has been shown to be more effective than pharmaceuticals, bedwetting alarms (that disrupt everyone’s sleep!) and just waiting with fingers crossed that your child will outgrow their bedwetting.

To work with one of our licensed physical therapists to help your child and to learn why your child is wetting the bed, call us at 616-516-4334.  We can answer all of your questions, explain our program and determine if this is a good fit for you.   You also can contact us here.

Some children do not need to implement the M.O.P program or enemas and we can tailor the approach to what is best for your child.  We have many interventions and alternatives to provide you and your child the best opportunity to improve constipation and bedwetting, even if your child is ten years old and has not shown any progress towards being dry at night.

Family history may play a role in bedwetting

It is common that children who wet the bed have adult family members who recall they were bedwetters when they were children.  However, bedwetting is not simply a “genetic” issue.  In general, our genes can be “turned on” or “turned off” through lifestyle and daily habits.   The thing that is often a common denominator for these family members who wet the bed is that everyone has (or used to have) constipation and non-optimal daytime bladder habits.  So if you are wondering why your ten your old wets the bed, you cannot blame it all on genetics.

The evidence is very clear that a major cause of bedwetting is constipation and that instead of blaming the bedwetting on genetics, you should strongly consider that both the child and the parent who used to wet the bed both had constipation.

When we are working with parents who want to know why their ten year old is wetting the bed, we provide private appointments with the parent, child and your licensed physical therapist.  The parent may recall being constipated as a child, or sometime the parent says they were not constipated or cannot remember.  Regardless of whether the parent believes they had constipation as a child or not, with regard to their child who may be ten years old and bedwetting, based on advanced training in pediatric bedwetting treatment and our clinical experience treating countless kids who wet the bed, if your child wets the bed we always, always check for signs of constipation and give you and your child treatment, a protocol and enhanced support for implementing the protocol to improve the constipation.

Bottom line:  wetting the bed after 4 years of age cannot be solely blamed on genetics and family history.

There are many things contributing to the bedwetting that can be treated, especially constipation, daytime bladder habits, pelvic floor muscle coordination, your child’s attention to and ability to sense when they need to urinate and more.  Our licensed physical therapists will work with your child and you, the parent, to develop and implement a comprehensive treatment program customized to your child’s needs and to what you, as a parent, can implement to support your child.  If you are interested in learning more call 616-516-4334 or contact us here. 

Non-optimal bladder habits during the day can contribute to bedwetting at night.  It is recommended that during the day your child should urinate every 2 to 4 hours

To establish a daytime urination pattern of voiding every 2 to 4 hours, your child must drink enough water and must be attentive to their body’s signals of needing to urinate.  Often, our PTs find that kids are not drinking water or other fluids in sufficient amount to get their bladder to fill up and empty every 2 hours.  We also find that kids, including kids with ADD or ADHD, are often happily playing or involved in a fun activity and ignore (or simply don’t recognize) the urge to urinate.  This is an important issue that our physical therapists help your child to improve.  Holding your pee for 4 hours or longer during the day is not healthy and actually stresses and can over-stretch the bladder, leading to greater chance for wetting the bed at night.  When the child goes to bed, even if they are ten years old and fully trained with daytime bladder control, at night their bladder is finally able to fully relax and empty and bedwetting can occur.

Bottom line: Keeping the bladder happy during the day is important to keeping the bladder functioning well (and holding urine without bladder spasms) at night.

Stress and family changes can contribute to bedwetting

Bladder and bowel control is a complicated neurophysiologic mechanism.  When looking at why your ten year old may wet the bed, we know that stress can play a role in making a bladder anxious and contribute to bedwetting.  Children, like adults, respond to stress (even “good” stress) with a bodily response.  Disruptions to your child’s routine and schedule can be a stressor that alters both their daytime bladder habits and their ability to hold their urine at night. If your child is experiencing bedwetting, consider any stressful triggers that may be present.  The addition of a younger sibling, change in a bedtime schedule, excitement anticipating a birthday party or going on a vacation are all examples of events that may lead to a child experiencing some difficulty with being dry at night.

Bottom line:  When looking for answers and solutions for why your ten year old wets the bed, it is important to consider stress and your child’s schedule and routines, as well as disruptions to routines.

Staying dry at night requires a complicated bladder/brain/pelvic floor muscle system to function properly.  Stress can impair this system and lead to bedwetting.  If your child is experiencing stress, even “good” stress, that is causing bedwetting consider teaching your child stress management strategies such as talking to a trusted adult, breathing, having fun playing with friends, optimizing sleep routines and eating a healthy diet filled with fruits, vegetables, fiber and water.

Our physical therapy will help your child stop bedwetting.  We provide you with answers for why your child, who may be 5 years old, 10 years old, 15 years old or in college, is wetting the bed at night.  We also customize a treatment program that is multi-dimensional and includes behavioral changes, toileting postures, pelvic floor muscle training, core strengthening, dietary strategies, chewing recommendations, sleep suggestions and more.  The answer to why a ten year old is wetting the bed can include numerous contributors to bedwetting; this is why our PT program provides you appointments that are 55 minutes in length and include strengthening, games, toileting practice, breathing training, pelvic floor muscle exercises, chewing and dietary suggestions, support for bowel clean out and more.  Kids have fun when they come to see us.  Parents express relief at getting a solution to the bedwetting.  If you would like to learn more about what to expect with our PT, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If you are a parent who is reading this because you have a ten year old child, or child older than 4 years old, who is wetting the bed and you want to know why this is happening and you need meaningful solutions, you have found the right place.

The kids and parents who come to our physical therapy clinic tell us that they are proud of themselves and so relieved to have help to improve their child’s bedwetting.  We help you answer the question as to why your ten year old is wetting the bed and we give you proven solutions to improve this problem.  Our physical therapists specialize in pediatric voiding dysfunction, so this means that we have advanced training specific to helping kids achieve daytime and nighttime control of their bladder and bowel function.  If you would like more information about how you can work with us, what the one-on-one treatment sessions might look like and cost and availability, please call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.  We love this work and believe every child deserves to be fully supported to achieve the complicated neuromotor coordination that bladder and bowel control involves.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specializing in pelvic health, bladder, bowel, pelvic pain and TMJ disorders and founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy.  All of our licensed physical therapists specialize in this treatment.

If you are asking yourself why does my ten year old wet the bed, give us a call at 616-516-4334.  Also, you may be interested in reading these other articles we’ve written:

Pediatric Bladder Physical Therapist Near Grand Rapids, Michigan

Why is My Child’s Poop So Big?

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

Why is My Child Bloated?

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

What Constipation Feels Like

When Can I Start Potty Training?

Physical Therapy Can Stop Bedwetting!

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

If your child is struggling with daytime wetting, we have physical therapy treatment that can help.

At Purple Mountain PT we provide physical therapy treatment for pediatric urinary incontinence (diurnal enuresis and nocturnal enuresis). 

Parents, we understand you may feel frustrated or uncertain about why your child keeps wetting their pants and what you can do to support them. Our doctors of physical therapy are pediatric bladder and bowel physical therapy specialists. Our physical therapists are trained in the unique bladder and bowel developmental needs of children, and the therapy that kids receive for bedwetting, or any bladder & bowel condition, is specific to pediatric needs. If interested in learning more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

Our physical therapy treatment for kids who have diurnal enuresis and bedwetting can improve self-esteem, social engagement and alleviate household stress. 

One of our greatest joys is when a child returns to PT with a broad smile and exclamation of their busy social life! It truly is a gift for us to witness, because we understand that bladder and bowel control issues, including bedwetting, often inhibit a child’s social interaction and may increase their anxiety. With bedwetting, children and sometimes parents, also, experience embarrassment or social avoidance of overnight outings.

At what age is wetting the bed or daytime wetting considered a problem?

Daytime loss of urine (also called diurnal enuresis, daytime wetting or daytime urine accidents) occurs in 3-4% of children between the ages of 4 and 12. It is twice as common in girls than boys.

Most children develop control of their bladder when sleeping between ages two and five. 16-20% of children upto age six experience bedwetting (also called nocturnal enuresis). At age 6, we would expect that children should be able to control their urine when sleeping. If your child is struggling with bedwetting or daytime bladder and bowel issues, our pediatric physical therapy program is here to help. We work with children of all ages, helping them to learn effective bladder and bowel control. If interested in learning more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

Achieving bladder and bowel control is a complicated neuromotor task! Don’t get angry with your child who keeps wetting their pants!

Most parents recognize how amazing it is when your infant learns to roll over and then advances to crawling and walking. The crawling stage is actually very important for their future bowel and bladder control, because it helps their core strength and their pelvis alignment. When children potty train, the neuromotor control that is happening is abundant! There is so much that goes into holding urine and stool and an equal amount of coordination and motor planning is needed for a child to recognize the sensation of needing to urinate or pass a bowel movement. Once they feel the urge, they need to stop what they are doing (which might be a fun activity!) and go to the toilet. When in the bathroom, their ability to control their pelvic floor muscles comes into play. Commonly, our patients push their urine or stool out. Or they may have urinary stream that stops and starts. Or they might not actually finish urinating or passing the stool. If your child keeps wetting their pants, we will help uncover the things contributing to this. To learn more contact us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

We will help identify the mal-adaptive habits or methods your child uses to urinate and defecate. 

We work with you and your child to find the underlying causes of daytime or nighttime incontinence (nocturnal enuresis). Our treatment methods are designed to help your child to learn what is normal frequency of peeing and defecating. We also help your child learn what the urge to urinate or defecate feels like. We encourage your child to listen to their body and use the toilet when they experience an urge. Parents tell us that all of our physical therapy for bladder and bowel control is so helpful to have another adult talking to their child, re-enforcing what has often been said by the parent. Parents get tired of saying to their child “Do you need to go the bathroom?” or “Please, go to the bathroom, you haven’t gone in hours.” And it is common that the child’s response is “I don’t need to go.” That’s frustrating for parents. We help take the frustration out of the circumstance; let us support your child towards understanding their body and gaining bladder and bowel control. If interested in learning more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

The International Children’s Continence Society recommends treatment for bedwetting for any child 6 years old or older: 

“Treatment is not only justified but mandatory.” – ICCS Standardization document 2010

What if my child is a pre-teen or older, can physical therapy help bedwetting for these ages? Yes we can!

We work with any person under the age of 18 who experiences bedwetting. Even though this is a private matter inside your home, the truth is that there are countless adolescents and teens who struggle with bedwetting. We recommend getting treatment at an earlier age, simply because it can help ease anxiety and household stress and promote your child’s social skills when bowel and bladder control has been achieved. However, if your child is “older”, have no fear, we commonly help adolescents and teens who have bedwetting. To learn more about our physical therapy to help your child’s bedwetting, contact us here.

What does bladder and bowel physical therapy do for incontinence (diurnal enuresis) or bedwetting?

We begin with an evaluation that fully analyzes bladder and bowel function, both daytime and nighttime, developmental levels and motor control. We provide a variety of therapeutic interventions to help your child learn to not keep wetting their pants.

We know it is frustrating for both you and your child when your child keeps wetting their pants. Our PT will uncover things that are contributing to this happening. We may ask you a variety of questions regarding your child’s bladder and bowel function. These could include

  • Toilet habits and behaviors, in particular does your child hold their urine too long, avoid bowel movements, or not empty completely?
  • Ball-park quantification of daytime urinary stream
  • Ballpark quantification of nighttime urine loss
  • Urinary flow characteristics
  • Urinary urge
  • Sleep quality, movements, habits, bedtime. Arousal during sleep.
  • Urinary frequency during daytime
  • Dietary habits, timing of foods, fiber, fluid intake and types of food and drink
  • Bowel habits including frequency, timing, sensation of the need to void, straining, pain, bloating or other.
  • Abdominal bloating, pain or cramping
  • The efforts you have made that have failed to achieve sleeping through the night without loss of urine
  • Urinary tract infection history.
  • Developmental milestones for motor and speech.
  • Urinary urge and your child’s reaction to urge
  • Bowel movement urge and your child’s reaction to urge
  • Toileting postures
  • Your child’s physical activities and sports
  • Any pertinent medical history. This could include anything, including: learning disabilities, congenital anorectal malformation, diabetes, spina bifida, down syndrome, autism, any developmental delay, anxiety, ADHD or any other condition.

If interested in learning more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

Our goal is to fully support you and your child and provide developmentally appropriate care. As such, our families tell us that the PT for their child’s bladder and bowel control challenges has been therapeutic, empowering and uplifting. 

Your child’s physical therapy will be comprehensive and fully work to address daytime and nighttime bladder and bowel issues.

Quite often families come to us and are not aware of any daytime bladder issues and report their child has daily bowel movements. However, upon further inquiry we often find that children do, indeed, have non-optimal bladder and bowel daytime function. If we want to alleviate bedwetting, we must optimize daytime bladder and bowel function. If interested in learning more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

We use a variety of methods to improve your child’s bladder and bowel control. These include:

  • Biofeedback to help your child learn to release and tighten the bladder and bowel control muscles.
  • Core strengthening for any child who has low tone, weak core or lower strength
  • Breathing exercises
  • Training to improve your child’s awareness of what an urge to urinate and defecate feels like. Improving their sensory understanding of their body is crucial. Children often are completely unaware of the need to void.
  • Toileting practice, teaching them proper posture, breathing, release of their pelvic floor muscles and relaxation during both a bowel movement and urination.
  • Dietary recommendations to facilitate complete bowel movements daily, without straining.
  • Constipation remedies including dietary suggestions, manual therapy and exercises to facilitate complete defecation.
  • Partnering with your pediatrician and advising you on protocols to facilitate a bowel clean-out. Often children who have bedwetting or daytime wetting their pants issues, have constipation.
  • Coaching your child in toileting habits, sleep habits and healthy bladder and bowel habits.
  • Gentle manual therapy methods (external only) to facilitate intestinal motility, awareness of their body and relief of muscular guarding.

Pediatric physical therapy for a child who keeps wetting their pants or experiences bedwetting must always assess and treat constipation!

When a child experiences urinary incontinence, whether daytime or when sleeping, quite often constipation is present. The nerves for the rectum and bladder are near each other, so if the rectum is full of stool, this can throw off bladder function. Additionally, a full rectum may physically push the bladder, contributing to bladder spasms and unexpected loss of urine, during the day or with bedwetting. To learn more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

Physical therapy to help any child who is wetting their pants or experiencing bedwetting is provided in a safe, private treatment space in an uplifting environment that is developmentally appropriate. Parents are always included!

At Purple Mountain PT, our treatment rooms are designed for our patients to experience a therapeutic setting. We work with you to create a partnership with you and your child that facilitates true progress with their bladder and bowel challenges. Because this is our life’s work, we are sensitive to the embarrassment that children may face and, as such, we use discrete and appropriate methods throughout your care so your child actually wants to come to PT. Our approach is positive, encouraging and therapeutic. We celebrate your child’s success and intentionally motivate your child to achieve the goals we create together. We love working with pre-teens and teens and find that they connect with our physical therapists because we are athletes, students and engage them in conversation on topics they enjoy, such as their sports or musical theater or band. If interested in learning more about the work with do with kids of all ages, contact us here.

Biofeedback and pelvic floor muscle training are helpful components of treatment for a child who experiences enuresis or nocturnal enuresis. 

The pelvic floor muscles, in coordination with breathing and the abdominals, are responsible for both storing/holding urine and stool and letting it go in the toilet. Some children don’t yet know how to effectively control these muscles. They may have learned mal-adaptive habits such as holding their urine too long, avoiding defecating, not using a public toilet or not drinking enough water. Sometimes the pelvic floor muscles get confused and need to be retrained. Our physical therapy for pediatric bladder and bowel control will help your child learn how to better understand and control these important muscles. To learn more, contact us here.

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?  If you are wondering this, your PT can help guide behavior & habit modifications to facilitate urinary and fecal control!

Often we find that our patients simply don’t like to use the toilet. They may avoid it all together or simply choose to use the toilet rarely. They may, in fact, not even feel the urge to urinate or perceive the need to pass a bowel movement. Often the kids legitimately did not realize they wet or soiled themselves. Parents may grow frustrated by this, but there is no benefit to getting angry with your child. Indeed, the lack of control is legitimately beyond their awareness. A child with this lack of awareness and, even a child who has awareness, but still wetting their pants sometimes, often benefits from behavioral modifications. We coach your child, using motivational techniques and education, to make better choices and to learn how to better take care of their body. We will teach your child optimal toileting posture and methods to pass urine and stool. Hint, they should not be rushing or pushing their pee or poop out! Our expertise and training helps identify these underlying habits and coaches you and your child so that bladder and bowel habits are optimized. Here is a link to a booklet about pediatric bedwetting that may be helpful for families to use at home. If interested in learning more about our physical therapy for kids who have bladder or bowel control challenges, contact us here.

To stop bedwetting and daytime wetting, positivity helps! Our physical therapy works to stop bedwetting, to improve daytime continence and to boost self esteem!

One key to our success with helping you uncover the reasons your child keeps wetting their pants is that we comprehensively treat your child and identify numerous items that may be contributing to their challenges with bladder and bowel control. 

We reward your child and help them to feel motivated to have success! We love to see a child proud of themselves and report success!

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy provides developmentally appropriate physical therapy for pediatric bladder and bowel control issues. We work with all ages and offer treatment that empowers kids to feel proud of their achievement. Because we are pelvic health physical therapists who also treat adults, we understand that bladder and bowel issues are prevalent across the lifespan. It is our hope that if we can support kids towards better pelvic health, some of them will not develop adult issues with their bladder and bowel function. Our doctors of physical therapy promise to give you our best! To learn more about our physical therapy to help your child’s challenges with bladder and bowel function, call 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT and the Purple Mountain Physical Therapy Team are specialists in treating pelvic health, bladder and bowel conditions and TMJ disorders.   We consider this work and honor and enjoy seeing kids thrive and gain self confidence as they master bladder and bowel control!

You also may be interested in these articles we’ve written about pediatric bladder and bowel issues, just click on them to read:

Pediatric Bladder Physical Therapist Near Grand Rapids, Michigan

Why Does My Ten Year Old Wet The Bed?

Why is My Childs Poop So Big?

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

Physical Therapy Can Stop Bedwetting!

And information about some of our adult physical therapy services, just click to read:

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

When Do I Need Pelvic Floor PT?

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

Why Does My C-Section Scar Hurt Years Later?

Tailbone pain and How Pelvic Floor PT Can Help You! Plus Some Self-Care Tips!

Vaginismus and Dyspareunia Treatment in Grand Rapids

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

TMJ Disorder Treatment in Grand Rapids

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Bladder Problems. What’s Going On?

Pelvic Floor PT in Grand Rapids!

You Have Found The Best Pelvic Floor PTs in Grand Rapids!

Here at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy we offer advanced and expert pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids for women, men and children. We understand that when you have a pelvic problem you don’t know where to go to receive your care and you want to make certain that you are getting the best results. Our doctors of physical therapy are uniquely qualified and offer you many years experience and advanced post-doctoral education specific to the challenging needs of pelvic health. To connect, connect us here, or call us at (616) 516-4334.

Pelvic Floor PT Explained!

Some patients tell us “I was skeptical this could help my urinary urgency and frequency, but now I’m a believer because it is so much better.”

We know that pelvic floor PT can be a bit of a mystery. Most of our patients tell us that they had no idea what pelvic PT would do for them. Pelvic floor PT is a specialty field within physical therapy that focuses upon treating bladder, bowel, pain and intimacy related problems for women, men and children. Our pelvic floor PT clinic in Grand Rapids is a place for you to be evaluated and treated with expertise and compassion in a trauma-informed setting that truly elevates the standard of care you should expect to receive from all of your providers. Our Doctors of Physical Therapy are licensed and also have completed extensive post-doctoral training specific to the field of pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorder physical therapy.  It makes a difference when you work with an experienced specialist.  If you are interested in learning more about working with our PTs here at Purple Mountain PT, reach out to us here or call us at (616) 516-4334.

What to Expect at Your First Appointment

It all begins with the first phone call!

First, you will know from your first phone call that you are receiving care from people who truly care about you and who strive to provide you with excellence. Our care is always welcoming, holistic, compassionate and trauma-informed.

Your Pelvic Floor Evaluation Appointment is Holistic and our Whole Body Framework ensures you receive comprehensive insights into the multiple contributions to your condition.

Your first appointment will be an evaluation, where we will go into depth with talking about your pelvic concerns. Some people come to us with focused and specific concerns, such as chronic lower abdominal pain that worsens with a full bladder. Other people come with more general pelvic concerns; for example, they had a child ten years ago and since then they have had some mild, annoying urinary incontinence and intimacy has not been quite the same. Men often present with severe pain that has been frustrating and ongoing. It is common that men have chronic prostatitis pain and/or nerve related problems of the pelvic floor. We are experts in nerve pain, including pain that radiates into the genitalia, perineum, anus and sit bones, as well as sciatic pain and other nerves. Rest assured, we will evaluate and treat every patient for the specifics related to numerous nerve conditions. Contact us for more information or call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with a knowledgable team member.

Your Pelvic PT Treatment Begins Day 1!   This first visit, it is our goal to begin the process of healing!

During this evaluation we begin treatment right away. This includes advising you on how to optimize bladder, bowel and intimacy function. If your child is our patient, we include the child and parent into all evaluation and treatment methods and all care is age-appropriate and focused upon optimizing the child’s bladder and bowel function. Our examination may include an in-depth assessment of your posture, hip mobility, low back function, thoracic spine and diaphragm. We examine and treat your abdominal wall strength and diastasis recti abdominus. Every adult patient receives a comprehensive myofascial assessment of all tissues from your shoulders to your knees (we check your neck and feet, if warranted, also). It is common that we find trigger points and areas of decreased blood flow in the tissues we evaluate and treat. As we discover items that are contributing to your symptoms, we educate you about our findings, commence treatment and help you understand what you can do to help yourself at home. Call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to your questions answered and see about how we can help you!

What is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Broadly speaking, pelvic floor dysfunction refers to the muscles at the base of your pelvis not working quite right. In many cases these muscles have stiffness, tightness and trigger points. In some cases, the muscles are weak. Other times the muscles have adequate strength, but their timing and coordination with other muscles is impaired, leading to urinary or gas leakage or pelvic organ prolapse symptoms. When these muscles are not working properly, because they work in concert with your abdominal wall and low back, they often contribute to pain in the abdomen, hips or back. Some people with pelvic floor dysfunction have considerable pelvic pain. These muscles also provide you control of your bladder and bowel, so if they are dysfunctional you may experience urinary leakage or frequency and urgency. The pelvic floor muscles have both superficial and deep layers; for some of the women and men we treat their primary problem is in the superficial layers. We check all of the layers of your pelvic floor muscles so that you can receive the right treatment to effectively recover your problem. To read more about the benefits of physical therapy, check out this blog we wrote or contact us here!

What does Pelvic Floor PT Involve?

Our treatment is holistic. This means that we evaluate and treat the numerous things that contribute to your pain, so that you experience excellent results. Our treatment is not cookie-cutter. You get specific care related to your body’s needs. Our care is often hands-on manual therapy that includes myofascial release, trigger point release, and nerve release. We also focus quite a bit on improving blood flow to your tissues because blood flow is the source of life & nutrition for your body, especially your nerves. We also offer treatment that is exercise based and focused upon recovering the coordination and firing of your pelvic floor muscles with your abdominals, low back, hips and knees/feet. For some people’s needs, we include balance training, jumping exercises and dynamic exercises that challenge the pelvic floor muscles so that they begin to fire more appropriately. We will assess and treat your abdominal wall so if you have a diastasis recti abdominus, we will provide very targeted exercises and myofascial work to facilitate recovery of your abdominal wall. Connect with us here to get started.

Why Should I Choose to Come To Purple Mountain Physical Therapy?

Our goal is to provide you excellence in care so that you experience meaningful results. Each appointment is with the same physical therapist, is private and lasts upto 55 minutes. We never bounce you around to a lesser trained person or someone you don’t know. Because we have extensive post-doctoral training and experience treating very challenging pelvic conditions, you can expect an expertise that is difficult to find. You will find that our physical therapists provide trauma informed care in a compassionate setting that is focused upon clinical excellence. We are here to provide you world class pelvic health PT care in Grand Rapids.

Meet Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT Pelvic Health, Spine and TM Joint Disorder Physical Therapist.  Founder of Purple Mountain PT.   Wife, Mother.

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT is a pelvic health, spine & TM joint physical therapist specialist, serving the West Michigan region. Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT practiced for 20 years in Chicago working with some of the top surgeons and physicians in the country at Northwestern Medicine Chicago, Loyola University Health Centers and Rush University Medical Center. She had patients travel to her from all over the country and world, seeking relief from their pelvic pain and bladder conditions.

Dr. Maureen founded Purple Mountain PT to provide specialized, one-on-one treatment to her patients by giving them the time needed (upto 55 minutes each appointment) and a whole-body framework to properly and holistically treat you.

Dr. Maureen provides pelvic, spine and TMJ treatments to women, men & children who are wanting to improve their condition by accelerating results from working with an experienced specialist.  Dr. Maureen is the leader at Purple Mountain PT and the reason behind our whole body framework that informs all of the treatments you receive.   All of our physical therapists are trained directly by Dr. Maureen, to ensure you receive the specialized excellence that Purple Mountain PT is known for.  Dr. Maureen combines manual therapies with therapeutic exercise, patient education, rehabilitative ultrasound imaging, balance training, deep core retraining and neural calming.   She loves to educate you on what you should be doing and how to help yourself.  If you would like to work with Dr. Maureen, give us a call at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.  

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT is proud to be a member of numerous professional societies that are leading organizations in the field of pelvic health and pelvic research.

These include the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and the Intl Society for Sexual Medicine, The North American Menopause Society and the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT has even taught physicians, surgeons and other pelvic health physical therapists techniques for evaluating and treating complex pelvic health conditions.   Her more than 25 years’ experience are a culmination of broad post-graduate pelvic health, sexual health and menopause related advanced education including treating chronic pain, pregnancy & postpartum recovery, diastasis recti abdominis healing, male pelvic & bladder conditions and pediatric bladder & bowel development.   Her experience treating individuals with chronic TM joint disorders, cerivcogenic headaches and neck pain provides relief from headaches, neck and jaw pain and difficulty with chewing and yawning. She enjoys working with individuals with challenging TM joint disorders or complex pelvic problems, including painful intercourse, pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain. She has a special heart for women in the pregnant or postpartum recovery stages, as she loves those special times and understands the difficulty it can cause to a women’s body. She herself had a traumatic birth injury and had to recover her body through extensive rehabilitation. She creates a healing environment, in partnership with the patient, to optimize results and address all contributing factors in the pelvic condition. Dr. O’Keefe is committed to providing top level care to her patients and is actively engaged in ongoing advanced education to keep up with the latest research and methods.

How Do I Get Started with Pelvic Floor PT? I Have Some More Questions.

The first step is to call our office at (616) 516-4334 to schedule an evaluation. We like to understand what your needs are, so we can know that we can meet your needs. We love this work and consider it a privilege and honor to help people in such a meaningful way! We look forward to meeting you and helping you to feel like yourself again.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT and the Purple Mountain PT Team.

Other articles that may be of interest:

Tips to Fix Incontinence Naturally

Tailbone pain and How Pelvic Floor PT Can Help You! Plus Some Self-Care Tips!

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

Physical Therapy for Male Incontinence in Grand Rapids

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

How Can I Help My TMJ Pain?

Pediatric Bladder Physical Therapist Near Grand Rapids, Michigan

You Have Found The Top Pediatric Bladder Physical Therapist in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Pediatric bladder physical therapy is a specialty within the field of PT that helps kiddos learn how to control their bladder & bowels.

Many parents ask us what is pediatric bladder physical therapy? Well, most moms have some awareness of pelvic floor dysfunction that can occur following pregnancy. All people have these same pelvic floor muscles and some kids have trouble developing the proper mechanics of bladder and bowel control. Pediatric bladder physical therapy is an effective treatment that helps kids learn how to control their bladder. In contrast to adult-based treatment that often involves internal work to the pelvic floor, with children all treatment is external. We commonly use biofeedback, exercises, body awareness training, practicing of toileting postures and techniques and play based education for your child and you to help recover control. We also may have you and your child keep a bladder and bowel log so we and you can better track progress and habits. The goal of bladder training is for your child to become aware of their bladder, to learn how to control their pelvic floor muscles and to be cognizant of their body’s urges to urinate. When these things are accomplished, your child will demonstrate improved mastery of their bladder. We use age-appropriate games, exercises, hands-on methods and education to teach your child how the bladder and bowel function and malfunction. We also encourage regular timed voiding and predictable habits so your child’s body and brain can learn to control their bladder. Our pediatric bladder physical therapist here in Grand Rapids, Michigan can help you and your child gain confidence and capacity to resolve incontinence. Get in touch with us here to learn more about how we can help you!

My Child Has Occasional Bladder Leakage. How Do I Know if It is a Problem?

Our founder, Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT, has helped counsel many families and friends with regard to this very question. We find it is helpful to point you in the direction of the diagnostic criteria for pediatric incontinence. After all, it takes kids some time to learn bladder and bowel control, so it may be normal upto a point.

In general, the cutoff age for being dry with your bladder, as defined by The International Children’s Continence Society (ICCS) is 5 years old.

  • The ICCS classifies childhood incontinence as either
  • Intermittent (the more common form) or
  • Continuous (often their is an anatomic or neurologic contributing factors with continuous loss of urine).

A 5 year old child who is still experiencing urinary incontinence from time to time would fall under the diagnostic category of Intermittent incontinence, as defined by the International Children’s Continence Society.

  • There are further classification of a child having either
  • Night time (enuresis) incontinence or
  • Daytime wetting.

Finally, kids are assessed for having:

  • Primary incontinence (meaning they have never been able to control urine at all times) or
  • Secondary incontinence (meaning incontinence occurs after at least a 6 month period of dryness).

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy offers full-spectrum pelvic health physical therapy services for adults and children. Our pediatric bladder physical therapists treat patients at our clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via remote consultation, for those who qualify

When working with our specialist bladder and bowel pediatric PT, you can expect all treatment to be developmentally appropriate, uplifting, comprehensive and supportive of the child and the parents’ needs.  Our pediatric bladder physical therapist, right here in Grand Rapids, will meet you and your child and immediately create a welcoming and uplifting environment for you to begin your treatment. Call us at (616) 516-4334 or click here to contact us and learn more about our treatment programs!

What Does A Typical Pediatric Bladder Physical Therapy in Grand Rapids Include?

We start with an evaluation of your child and your child’s development. Parents and your child will be asked about their food preferences, exercise and activity levels, and bladder and bowel habits. We will also learn about your child’s development and any challenges your child may be experiencing in a school or preschool setting, such as speech, motor or social challenges.  Our PT works to gain your child’s trust and buy-in and understands your child may be shy and not able to verbalize or readily talk at the first visit.   Our approach includes parents in all treatment, is age-appropriate, compassionate and fun.

Parents tell her that their child’s confidence improves and social anxiety eases when the bladder and bowel functions have been mastered.  One child came to PT today jumping up and down with excitement to tell his PT that he had experienced two bowel movements today!   He said “I am so proud of myself!”   This is our greatest satisfaction, as physical therapists devoted to helping kids overcome their bladder & bowel issues.

We know that childhood incontinence is common. In fact, a study in the UK found that 15.5% of kids who are 7 1/2 years old have nighttime bedwetting (enuresis). As kids got older, these rates decreased but you may be surprised to learn that in adults the rates remained 0.5%-1%. Daytime bladder leakage was found to be 15% of 4 1/2 year olds and 5% in 9 1/2 year old kids. If your child is struggling with any of this, get in touch with us here!

Does Your Child also have Behavioral or Emotional Problems? Our Pediatric Bladder Physical Therapist Understands that Your Family Needs Support

While some kiddos may outgrow this problem on their own, not everyone does, so you shouldn’t delay getting expert care. Children who have bladder control disorders also have been found to have emotional or behavioral disorders at a higher rate than those kids who do not have bladder control problems. 20-30% of kids with nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) and 20-40% with daytime urinary leakage have emotional or behavioral disorders. The rates of emotional and behavioral disorders go higher if your child has fecal incontinence, with 30-50% of kids with fecal incontinence meeting the criteria for psychiatric disorders. Parents we know you love your kids and you want them to be able to have fun, without anxiety, without emotional outbursts, without struggling with their bladder and bowel control. We also know that you parents need support. Our expert pediatric bladder physical therapist is here for you, too. We support you and your child so that the worry and stress of bladder and bowel control is not solely on your shoulders. If your child experiences bladder leakage and social anxiety, fear of going to a friend’s home and difficulty with going to school, we have found and parents have noted that these social anxiety symptoms improve as bladder and bowel mastery is achieved. Our pediatric bladder physical therapist understands the psychological stresses that often accompany bladder control problems and you can rest assured that you and your child will receive compassionate, positive and uplifting care that renders your child feeling empowered and more confident. Call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff or contact us here for more information!

Constipation Must Be Addressed and Treated First and Throughout Incontinence Therapy

We find that many of our pediatric patients come to us with a longtime history of chronic constipation. Quite often the kids just haven’t “tuned into” their body’s signals that tell them they should defecate or they may have dyssynergic defecation, a problem with coordinating their pelvic floor muscles properly to allow for defecation. Even if your child’s primary problem is bladder related, you can expect we will first be addressing their bowel regularity. Our experience and research has shown us that we must get the bowels regular if we want to optimize kids’ bladder control.

Our pediatric bladder & bowel PTs use  a combination of play based exercises and gentle, external hands-on treatments to help your child improve their bladder and bowel control. We use rehabilitative ultrasound imaging biofeedback so that your child can learn how to better coordinate and listen to their body’s muscles. This is a unique offering at our clinic, no one else is using ultrasound because it is costly to invest in this technology and difficult to master.  But, we specialize in treating kids & adults, so we have invested in what we know will help you best.   Parents are included in all treatments so that you learn how to best support your child.

We are so fortunate to be able to provide pediatric bladder physical therapy right here in Grand Rapids. Parents have told us that they have searched for a highly qualified pelvic physical therapist for their child, but couldn’t find anyone for whom this is their specialty. With Purple Mountain PT, rest assured, you have found a pediatric bladder physical therapist who is laser focused on pelvic health care. Our doctors of physical therapy have advanced training in bladder developmental stages, optimal bowel function, dyssynergic defecation, chronic constipation, pelvic floor dysfunction, bedwetting and urinary urgency and frequency. We know how to help your child learn to control their bladder and their bowels. We begin pediatric bladder physical therapy in Grand Rapids at our Purple Mountain PT clinic, located in Cascade near the I-96 and Cascade Rd exit. Our private and bright, sunny treatment rooms provide a welcoming and easy to find place for your child to receive care. The first step is to schedule an evaluation with our pediatric bladder physical therapist.   You can call us here to get started.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specialist in bladder & bowel physical therapy for over 25 years.

You may be interested in these articles about our pelvic health physical therapy, including pediatric bladder & bowel PT and one article highlighting our pregnancy & postpartum care:

Why is My Child’s Poop So Big?

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

Does Physical Therapy Help Constipation?

What your pelvic floor PT wants you to know about pregnancy & postpartum care