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

Author | Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health, back pain, neck pain and TMJ disorder specialist physical therapist. Experienced with treating people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & bladder problems or pelvic floor dysfunction.

Can Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Contribute to Bladder Problems or Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

If you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and also are experiencing some bladder problems and pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, you may be wondering if the two issues are associated. As an experienced pelvic health physical therapist for 25 years, I have treated people who have EDS and also have bladder problems and pelvic floor dysfunction, prolapse, pelvic congestion syndrome, bladder control problems, lower back and neck pain and hip problems (such as hip labral tears, hip pain, gluteal tendinopathy). There has been research, that we will show here, that people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome experience higher rates of urinary problems and pelvic pain. Fortunately, our physical therapists specialize in helping people who have EDS to gain urinary control and reduce back, hip and pelvic pain. If you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and are experiencing bladder problems or pain, seeing a highly qualified pelvic physical therapist can help restore bladder function and reduce pain. We provide treatment that is customized to your needs and abilities and is safe and effective for people who have EDS. For more information about our in-person physical therapy at Purple Mountain PT in Grand Rapids, Michigan or remote consultations, call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff members or contact us here.

All of our licensed physical therapists here at Purple Mountain PT have experience helping people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and also have pelvic or lower back pain, bladder problems, neck or TMJ pain.

Because bladder problems and pelvic pain are common with individuals who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, our pelvic PTs have training and experience in designing effective treatment programs to help optimize bladder function and reduce pelvic, back, neck, jaw and hip pains that are common with the hypermobility and other connective tissue issues with people with EDS. Below I detail some of the bladder and pelvic floor issues that research has found for people who have EDS. I also will review some of the methods that our licensed physical therapists use. If you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and are experiencing pelvic, back, hip, neck or TMJ issues and would like more information about our in-person treatment or remote consultations, call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff members or contact us here.

Do you feel like with your Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome you are the only one dealing with bladder problems? You are not alone! EDS can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder problems.

We know that people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome have been found to have many bladder and pelvic symptoms, including chronic pelvic pain, bladder control problems and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Research published this year (2022) asked more than 1300 people who have EDS if they experience pelvic prolapse, pain, bladder problems or sexual issues. The respondents reported the following genitourinary problems:

60% report stress urinary incontinence
54% urinary urgency incontinence
24% fecal incontinence
21% pelvic organ prolapse.
71% pelvic pain, especially dysmenorrhea, back pain and muscle and joint pain.
Nearly 50% have sexual dysfunction with 36% reporting painful sex (dyspareunia)

Kciuk O, Li Q, Huszti E, McDermott CD. Pelvic floor symptoms in cisgender women with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: an international survey study. Int Urogynecol J. 2022 Jun 25. doi: 10.1007/s00192-022-05273-8. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35751670.

Our licensed physical therapists treat all of the bladder problems, prolapse and sexual-related difficulties noted in this Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome study and many others, actually.

We are fully experienced in the specialty fields of pelvic health (for men, women and children) and TMJ disorder physical therapy (also women, men & children). Our PTs are also experienced orthopedic physical therapists who have treated every “common” ortho condition you can imagine anywhere in the body, including the feet, knees, shoulders, elbows. When a person who has EDS comes to us for treatment for their pelvic condition, back, neck or jaw, we include treatment to these other areas, if needed, to help your primary issues. If you are experiencing pelvic, back, hip, neck or TMJ issues and would like more information about the in-person treatment or remote consultations, call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff members or contact us here.

In addition to focused pelvic treatment that may include manual therapy & exercises to the abdomen, pelvis, low back and hips, patients who have EDS benefit from comprehensive, whole-body treatment.

By addressing posture, overall strength, movement patterns, muscle imbalances, stability, balance, pelvic floor dysfunction, SI joint alignment and other things, we customize a treatment plan for each patient who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, your movement patterns and weakness contribute to incontinence, pelvic pain, overactive bladder, prolapse or other pelvic symptoms; it is our hope to personalize the treatment for you to get you functioning as well as possible, within the context of your EDS. Our goal is to address the many contributions to your pain, prolapse, pelvic floor dysfunction, incontinence or other issues so you can function at a higher level, experience better bladder function and learn how to protect your muscles, pelvic floor, pelvic organs and joints in the process. If you have questions about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or submit your questions here.

Many of our patients have already tried other therapies, medical interventions, alternative treatments or personal efforts and still struggle with bladder issues or pelvic pain. Because we specialize in helping people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and bladder or pain problems, we are able to provide care that is effective, comprehensive and different than other approaches.

It is our goal to get you relief from pain and bothersome bladder problems by providing comprehensive physical therapy treatment that differs from what you have tried. Our treatment plan for people who have Ehlers-Danlos related bladder and pain problems includes a variety of whole body interventions that are customized to each person’s needs. To effectively address pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic or back pain or bladder problems, we partner with you to create a treatment plan that includes manual therapy, corrective exercise, postural training, body mechanics instruction, bladder control therapies, balance exercises, pelvic floor exercises or any other methods you may need. For individuals who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome we often find a high amount of muscular trigger points causing pain. Our manual therapy techniques or dry needling can be effective approaches to helping ease trigger points and their pain.

Our pelvic physical therapy program for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome takes into consideration the special accommodations or needs that a person who has EDS may require in a physical therapy program.

We provide postural support and use methods to ensure your joints are not strained during therapy. Our PTs also recognize that you may experience more fatigue with exercise and are able to create movement retraining programs that are better tolerated for your body. Some of our patients who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome also have POTS (positional orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and our PTs will modify and customize your treatment program to a level that your orthostatic intolerance can tolerate. If you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and are looking for a solution to your pelvic condition and would like to work with a physical therapist who is knowledgeable and experienced both with working with people who have EDS and who have pelvic floor dysfunction (bladder, prolapse, pain, fecal issues), we offer in-person treatment or remote consultations. Call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff members or contact us here and get your questions answered.

71% of people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome reported pelvic pain

This study specifically found a high rate of back pain, joint pain, muscle pain and menstrual cramps for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Chronic pelvic pain is one thing that our PTs specialize in treating, including in people with hypermobility, pelvic floor laxity, pelvic organ prolapse and chronic back and hip pain. We treat all of the pain conditions mentioned in the research and many others, such as endometriosis related pain, persistent genital arousal disorder, chronic SIJ pain, tailbone pain, Pudendal neuralgia, vaginismus, vulvodynia, chronic c-section scar pain and others. For some patients the pain is related to pelvic organ prolapse, which is also common amongst people who have Ehlers-Danlos. Our treatment is designed to improve your pain, prolapse, pelvic floor muscular support, posture and other issues. To ask us a question about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or submit your questions here.

Common areas of pain that we treat for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome include chronic low back pain, chronic pelvic pain, SI joint pain, tailbone pain, hip pain, neck and TMJ pain.

The spine, hips and pelvis undergo tremendous forces with daily activities. For individuals who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome there is often excess strain occurring through these joints, nerves, connective tissue and muscles. By treating your whole body, reducing muscular trigger points, enhancing deep core muscle stabilization and pelvic floor muscle function, optimizing your postural alignment to the best of your ability and retraining movement patters, our physical therapists develop treatment plans for individuals who have EDS that can reduce your pain and enhance your bladder and bowel function. If you are interested in speaking with one of our knowledgeable staff members about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or submit your questions here.

Treatment may be directed to your head, TM joint (jaw), neck, rib cage, shoulders, the low back, hips, knees or feet.

Bladder problems and pain problems need treatment that goes well beyond simply treating the pelvic floor muscles. To best improve the incontinence, urgency and frequency or pelvic pain that a person who has EDS is experiencing, we must include whole body treatment. We use stability exercises and hands-on manual therapy to retrain your core muscles, including the pelvic floor muscles (that attach to the coccyx and influence tailbone, SIJ and lower back pain). Often the SI joint is not aligned or functioning properly for our patients who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; this SIJ dysfunction can contribute to bladder problems, including incontinence and overactive bladder (urinary frequency and urgency), which is why we always check and treat the SI joint for all of our patients who have EDS. To ask us a question about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or submit your questions here.

For our patients with Ehlers-Danlos who have chronic pelvic pain, we have found benefit from a combined manual therapy approach with stabilization, strengthening and movement-based retraining.

By combining therapeutic hands-on treatments (to your neck, back, abdomen, hips, thighs and other areas with muscle guarding and myofascial pain) with corrective therapeutic exercise care, we are able to help you alleviate your pelvic, back and other pains. Because pelvic floor dysfunction is a special area of focus for us, we include treatment to the pelvic floor muscles, which has typically been overlooked by other treatment methods. People who have back pain, hip pain, tailbone pain or SIJ pain also have pelvic floor dysfunction. Research supports that people who have EDS typically also have weakness. If someone has pelvic pain, we need to improve strength and also need to reduce trigger points, muscle guarding and imbalanced or hypermobile joints. We do this with specific corrective exercises and hands-on manual therapy, adapted according to your tolerance if you have POTS. The whole-body, comprehensive care we provide to pelvic pain patients who have EDS offers you a path forward. Our PTs pledge to provide you personalized care that meets your needs and is customized to our findings for you. If you have questions about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or if interested in scheduling an appointment, you can contact us here.

60% of the people who have EDS reported stress urinary incontinence, a leakage of urine problem that benefits from pelvic PT.

Improving stress incontinence, which is the type of leakage that occurs when you laugh, cough or sneeze, can be frustrating, without the support of a pelvic PT who specializes in this. Many patients come to us and have tried solving this problem on their own, without success. People who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, hypermobility type, benefit from the personalized training and focus from our licensed physical therapists to learn how to more effectively control their bladder, stabilize their movements and manage the intra-abdominal pressure that is generated with their daily movements and exercises. If you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and are experiencing pelvic issues such as SIJ pain, lower back pain, pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, frequency or other bladder issues, our PTs can help you. If you are like many of our patients, you are tired of dealing with these problems and looking for a solution. You have found a place that is devoted to helping people just like you. To get your questions answered or speak with one of our knowledgeable staff, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or contact us here.

When wondering if Ehlers-Danlos can cause bladder problems and pelvic floor dysfunction, 60% stress incontinence and 54% urinary urgency incontinence rates are higher than typical and indicate there can be an EDS component contributing to bladder problems. Fortunately, physical therapy helps this.

Our PTs will work with you to identify what is going on with your bladder. Just because you have EDS does not mean you are stuck with bladder control issues. Effective, holistic pelvic physical therapy, as described here, is helpful to improve bladder function. Your problem may involve a number of issues (incontinence, nocturia, overactive bladder, pain, urge incontinence, retention, poor stream, etc.). We specialize in helping people restore functional bladder problems of all types. Each type of bladder problem needs different treatment methods and we will give you what your bladder and body need, addressing your EDS and working to improve bladder function, pelvic floor dysfunction, core muscle deficiencies, posture or anything else. Because EDS involves a defect in the collagen proteins that provide strength and flexibility to your connective tissues, we take this in to consideration when designing a treatment program for you. If you have a hypermobile urethra or bladder, our PTs provide you natural treatments and options to support this hypermobility so that you are less likely to experience stress incontinence. If you have questions about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or submit your questions here.

Our PTs work one-on-one with you, never leaving you to exercise on your own. We continually are instructing you and coaching you towards improved engagement of the necessary deep core and postural muscles with the pelvic floor to control urine better.

You can expect treatment that may be exercise based with some hands-on treatments. Patients come to us with many questions and a deep desire to solve their problem. If this sounds like you, please call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members and get your questions answered, or submit them here.

Fortunately, we know that pelvic floor physical therapy can alleviate incontinence, painful sex, prolapse symptoms and overall pain.

Because there is a strong amount of bladder problems, such as incontinence or urgency and frequency, with pelvic floor dysfunction in people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, our PTs are experienced in seeing these problems and helping you improve.

We treat all of our patients, including those who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, with one-on-one, private appointments that include pelvic floor muscle retraining, strengthening of your core, postural correction and gentle hands-on manual therapy. We teach you what exercises to do at home, with very specific instructions for how to perform them safely. We take into consideration the unique needs of people who have EDS and partner with you to ensure your therapy is meeting your expectations. Physical therapy can improve bladder function, including issues such as incontinence, overactive bladder or incomplete emptying. At Purple Mountain PT, this is our specialization and our experienced physical therapists are ready to help you. We offer in-person or remote consultations, for those who qualify. Call 616-516-4334 to talk to one of our staff members or contact us here.

54% of the people in the EDS study reported urinary urge incontinence

Our clinical experience indicates that some people who have EDS experience the pelvic floor muscles going into high tone and stiffness to compensate for hypermobility. This extra activity of the pelvic floor muscles can cause the bladder to perceive that you need to urinate and, over time, urinary urgency, frequency or urge incontinence can develop. Our physical therapy program to help this problem is comprehensive and effective. If you have questions about our physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or other conditions, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with a knowledgeable staff member or contact us here.

This 54% rate of urge urinary incontinence for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is much higher than the general population, where published rates range from approximately 7-12% of people.

Our PTs love to help urinary urgency, frequency and urge incontinence. Often people who have this condition also are getting up at night to urinate, which causes sleep disruptions. Our treatments for this include a variety of methods to retrain your bladder, so it can calm down, fill up and store urine without giving you urgency and urge incontinence. The treatment for this is largely hands-on care, like everything else we do it is whole-body treatment. We will assess your EDS and determine if you have hypermobility, postural issues or movement patterns that are contributing to your bladder frequency and urgency and urge incontinence and include care for this, as well. We offer in-person or remote consultations, for those who qualify. Call 616-516-4334 to talk to one of our staff members or contact us here.

Why pelvic physical therapy is a safe, natural treatment for your bladder problems, pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Looking at the rates of genitourinary symptoms in people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome can be discouraging, especially if you are reading this article and find yourself one of the many people who have these symptoms. You are not stuck with these problems just because you have EDS. We can improve your muscular control, joint stability, strength, postural alignment and other factors that cause bladder problems and pelvic floor dysfunction. Physical therapy has always been a natural option for recovery and offers a number of benefits. If you are interested in receiving support from Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, our licensed physical therapists specialize in helping adults and children, including people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Our focus areas include pelvic health conditions, spine (neck or back), chronic pelvic pain or TMJ disorders. We offer in-person or remote consultations, for those who qualify. Call 616-516-4334 to talk to one of our staff members or contact us here.

If I have Ehlers-Danlos, why pelvic floor physical therapy can help you, including bladder issues.

We know that Ehlers-Danlos can contribute to you experiencing a number of bladder problems, including leakage or urgency and frequency. When these problems have been ongoing, the pelvic floor muscles persist in their dysfunction. Pelvic PT is here to help.

Unlike surgery or pharmaceuticals, our physical therapists work with you using safe, natural and effective treatments that enhance your function and give you some control over your body.
Whole-body treatment methods are can benefit a person who has hypermobility, weakness, postural misalignments, improper breathing patterns and more.
Bladder control for individuals with Ehlers-Danlos may involve stress incontinence, urinary urgency and frequency, incomplete emptying, recurrent urinary tract infections or other issues (constant urge, bladder pain, for example). We have treatment programs to help each of these bladder problems. These are adapted and customized according to each person’s needs, tolerance and findings, including if you have EDS.
Our physical therapists help bring clarity, education on optimal bladder habits and methods to keep your bladder and pelvic floor happy and healthy. Patients tell us that PT has given them hope and helped them function at a higher level again. Often people who have EDS feel at a loss for how to change their bladder problems, pelvic organ prolapse or pelvic floor dysfunction. Our licensed physical therapists create a focused, pragmatic and effective treatment plan for you.

Our physical therapists help people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder problems.

Our goal for individuals who come to us and have EDS, bladder problems, chronic pelvic pain or TMJ pain is to provide you safe, effective, whole body physical therapy treatment to reduce pain, improve your quality of life and optimize the bladder’s function. This includes the bladder’s ability to fill up, store urine without leaking and effectively contract to freely empty urine. One important aspect of our treatment model is that we provide one-on-one treatments, up to 55 minutes each visit, with your doctor of physical therapy. This allows you to establish a trusted relationship with your provider and to advance your program each week. We offer in-person or remote consultations, for those who qualify. Call 616-516-4334 to talk to one of our staff members or contact us here.

Because Bladder Problems and Pelvic Floor dysfunction are higher for individuals who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, we believe that pelvic PT should be the standard of care for you. In an ideal world, the medical community would routinely recommend physical therapy for bladder and pelvic floor dysfunction for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Many people find out about our physical therapy on their own. Some people google and find us, other people have friends and family tell them about us, others find us on Instagram (@purplemountainpt) or Facebook. Even when patients are referred to pelvic physical therapy, the research has found a lot of you choose not to go. We get it. We understand you might be scared or anxious to go to pelvic PT. Our physical therapists offer trauma-informed and compassionate care and we will work with you to devise a plan together. Patients tell us they wish they had found us sooner, because the treatment has helped them so much. We are the natural, safe, solution that enhances your bladder control, builds strength, improves posture, resolves pelvic floor dysfunction, alleviates pain and gives you hope. Suffering with these private, embarrassing pelvic floor problems is not your highest quality of life. We are here to help you. If you would like more information about our in-person physical therapy (in Grand Rapids) or our remote consultations, call us at 616-516-4334 or submit your questions here.

If you tired of leaking urine, chronic pelvic pain, prolapse or urge incontinence and you have EDS, our PTs are here to help you.

We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, a speciality pelvic health and TM joint PT clinic located in Grand Rapids, MI. We offer in-person treatment and remote consultations. You don’t need to suffer with these pelvic problems, there is high quality, safe and effective treatment from one of our physical therapists. Our team of PTs is devoted to pelvic health, including helping people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. We can help you improve bladder dysfunction, including overactive bladder, stress incontinence, urge incontinence, nocturia, difficulty emptying, poor stream and bladder pain. Nothing makes us happier than helping you to feel better and more confident how to manage your Ehlers-Danlos for lifelong wellbeing. We will educate you, teach you, coach you, improve your strength, address your movement patterns and provide you with comprehensive care that is safe and effective for your particular needs. Getting started is easy. Just call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff and get your questions answered. Or submit an inquiry here.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy and specialist in pelvic floor dysfunction, neck, back and TMJ disorders. All of our physical therapists have advanced post-graduate training to help individuals who have EDS.

Additional articles that may be of interest:

What is High Tone Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Tips to Fix Incontinence Naturally

TMJ Disorder Treatment in Grand Rapids

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Overactive Bladder in Grand Rapids

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

References:

Arunkalaivanan AS, Morrison A, Jha S, Blann A. Prevalence of urinary and faecal incontinence among female members of the hypermobility syndrome association (HMSA). J Obstet Gynaecol J Inst Obstet Gynaecol. 2009;29(2):126–128. 10.1080/01443610802664747.

Chan C, Krahe A, Lee YT, Nicholson LL. Prevalence and frequency of self-perceived systemic features in people with joint hypermobility syndrome/Ehlers-Danlos syndrome hypermobility type. Clin Rheumatol. 2018;38:503–511. 10.1007/s10067-018-4296-7

Coussens M, Lapauw B, Banica T, De Wandele I, Pacey V, Rombaut L, Malfait F, Calders P. Muscle Strength, Muscle Mass and Physical Impairment in Women with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact. 2022 Mar 1;22(1):5-14. PMID: 35234154; PMCID: PMC8919651.

Gilliam E, Hoffman JD, Yeh G. Urogenital and pelvic complications in the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and associated hypermobility spectrum disorders: A scoping review. Clin Genet. 2020 Jan;97(1):168-178. doi: 10.1111/cge.13624. Epub 2019 Sep 1. PMID: 31420870; PMCID: PMC6917879.

Knoepp LR, McDermott KC, Muñoz A, Blomquist JL, Handa VL. Joint hypermobility, obstetrical outcomes, and pelvic floor disorders. Int Urogynecol J. 2013;24(5):735–740. 10.1007/s00192-012-1913-x.

Kohn A, Chang C. The Relationship Between Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2020 Jun;58(3):273-297. doi: 10.1007/s12016-019-08755-8. PMID: 31267471.

Le Huec JC, Aunoble S, Philippe L, Nicolas P. Pelvic parameters: origin and significance. Eur Spine J. 2011 Sep;20 Suppl 5(Suppl 5):564-71. doi: 10.1007/s00586-011-1940-1. Epub 2011 Aug 10. PMID: 21830079; PMCID: PMC3175921.

Mastoroudes H, Giarenis I, Cardozo L, et al. Lower urinary tract symptoms in women with benign joint hypermobility syndrome: a case–control study. Int Urogynecol J. 2013;24(9):1553–1558. 10.1007/s00192-013-2065-3.

Milsom & M. Gyhagen (2019) The prevalence of urinary incontinence, Climacteric, 22:3, 217-222, DOI: 10.1080/13697137.2018.1543263

Mou T, Warner K, Brown O, Yeh C, Beestrum M, Kenton K, Emi Bretschneider C. Prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse among US racial populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based screening studies. Neurourol Urodyn. 2021 Jun;40(5):1098-1106. doi: 10.1002/nau.24672. Epub 2021 Apr 9. PMID: 33834519.

Roeder, M., Thiel, S., Baumann, F. et al. Increased augmentation index in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 20, 417 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-020-01684-x

Rombaut L, Malfait F, De Wandele I, Taes Y, Thijs Y, De Paepe A, Calders P. Muscle mass, muscle strength, functional performance, and physical impairment in women with the hypermobility type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012 Oct;64(10):1584-92. doi: 10.1002/acr.21726. PMID: 22556148.

Scheper MC, Nicholson LL, Adams RD, Tofts L, Pacey V. The natural history of children with joint hypermobility syndrome and Ehlers–Danlos hypermobility type: a longitudinal cohort study. Rheumatology. 2017;56(12):2073–2083. 10.1093/rheumatology/kex148.

Ying Sheng, Janet S. Carpenter, James A. Ashton-Miller, Janis M. Miller. (2022) Mechanisms of pelvic floor muscle training for managing urinary incontinence in women: a scoping review. BMC Women’s Health 22:1.

Tips to Fix Incontinence Naturally

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health physical therapist specializing in treating adults with urinary incontinence.

What can I do at home to improve urinary incontinence? Some tips for you to help fix your incontinence naturally.

Our physical therapists provide every patient extensive education and self care training to help their urinary incontinence. Here we detail some general tips that are recommended in some guidelines and through our clinical practice with treating urinary incontinence. We recommend you work with your PT to figure out what is best for you. Because you are not our patient, these tips to fix incontinence naturally are for educational purposes only and serve as a talking point with your provider. If you are interested in working with one of our licensed physical therapists, call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or submit your questions here.

Monitor your bladder symptoms: Pay attention to what is going on. Notice your urinary frequency, flow of urine, how often you wake at night to urinate and any changes in your status. See your provider when things change or if you have any concerning symptoms (pain, burning, difficulty emptying, blood, etc.)
Drink enough water to keep yourself hydrated. With urinary incontinence, it is helpful to stay properly hydrated. Some people avoid drinking water or other beverages due to fear of leaking, but this concentrates your urine and denies your bladder the chance to fill up, which is helpful for bladder function.
Try drinking your water all at once, instead of sipping all day long. Sometimes sipping water all day long, can exacerbate urinary incontinence. Instead, for some people, it is helpful to drink a large glass of water all at once. This also helps your bladder to learn how to fill up and hold urine.
Avoid fluids that irritate your bladder or worsen urinary incontinence. Each person is different, but common culprits include alcohol, carbonated beverages and caffeine.
Don’t push your pee out. Urinating in a relax manner, either standing or sitting, optimizes your bladder function and avoids straining the pelvic floor muscles. Rushing or pushing out your urine can worsen pelvic floor muscle function and exacerbate urinary incontinence.
Be certain to fully empty your bladder. Take all the time you need to empty. Some men benefit from gently milking the urethra to get all of the urine out of the urethra. For some men, this helps reduce post-void dribbling.
If you experience urinary frequency and urgency, use techniques to calm these bladder spasms. Things like diaphragmatic breathing, gentle pelvic floor muscle contractions followed by relaxing them, distraction techniques and mental tasks to take you mind off of your bladder can help some men calm bladder spasms.
Urinating every 2 to 4 hours apart is optimal. We prefer that you try to retrain bladder control to hit these benchmarks. Some men cannot hold their urine for 2 hours without experiencing severe bladder spasms; you need pelvic PT to calm this problem. Other men wait too long to urinate and simply overtax the bladder control system because they don’t urinate often enough.
Use the toilet when you feel the urge to defecate. Constipation and holding in stool can worsen bladder control. This is one of our best tips to fix incontinence naturally. Truly, if you have bladder control problems, you need to be certain your bowels are regular. Our pelvic PTs specialize in treating constipation, bladder, bowel and pain related issues. If you are interested in working with us, call 616-516-4334 or submit your questions here.
Eat a healthy diet with enough fiber, fruit and vegetables to keep your bowel movements regular. Fiber doesn’t help everyone, but in America we are generally not eating enough of it. If you have urinary incontinence, you must improve your bowel regularity to help your bladder control.
Talk to your physician about all the medications you are taking, because some of them contribute to bladder control problems.
Remain physically active. We know that more sedentary people have worse control of their urine. The pelvic floor muscles need to be worked throughout the day and being active and moving around helps these muscles. For example, in one study men who were physically active one or more times/week had a 51% lower risk of urinary incontinence. Walking for exercise is one tip we offer to naturally help incontinence. Your pelvic floor and bladder control muscles can benefit from walking. If exercise causes your incontinence, our physical therapy specializes in resolving leakage that is caused by movement, jumping, running or other exercise.
Maintain healthy body weight. Belly fat puts more pressure on the bladder control system, for both men and women. If you have excess weight, working on optimizing your weight can improve your bladder control. One study found that men who were obese had a 220% increased odds of urinary incontinence compared to men who were normal weight.
Stop smoking or vaping. In a large study of over 600 women smoking was found to substantially increase the risk of stress incontinence (involuntary loss of urine).
When lifting, exhale and use good body mechanics If you hold your breath when lifting things, you are applying extra force through your bladder and pelvic floor, making it easier to strain and lose urine.
Improve your posture The optimal alignment of your head, ribcage, low back and pelvis sets you up for better bladder control. If you know that your posture is not good, you may be orienting your bladder, urethra and pelvic floor in a position where it is easier to lose urine. Our physical therapy program addresses postural correction as part of our urinary incontinence recovery physical therapy.
Strengthen your core, hips and whole body If your core, glutes or thighs are not at optimal strength and functioning, then your pelvic floor may go into over-drive to compensate; this is pelvic floor dysfunction and makes it possible to experience urinary incontinence.
Optimize your blood sugar. There is a connection between diabetes and incontinence.
Don’t assume Kegels will help you If you have pelvic floor dysfunction (and you do, if you are having urinary incontinence), sometimes the muscles and bladder control gets worse if you do Kegels. This is why our licensed physical therapists work closely with you to assess and treat your incontinence. Every patient receives a customized and whole-body treatment program and is closely supervised by their physical therapist.
Work to improve your balance. The pelvic floor muscles should be responding when you lose your balance and as you walk and move. We use balance based exercises routinely as part of our pelvic floor rehabilitation programs to comprehensively improve urinary incontinence. If you are interested in working with one of our licensed physical therapists, call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or submit your questions here.
Address any pain you experience. Pain can upregulate your system and contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction. Our PTs specialize in treating chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, TM joint pain, neck and back pain. If you would like to work with our PTs or have questions about our treatment, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
Women going through perimenopause or who are menopausal, consider estrogen. As estrogen declines, urinary incontinence occurs more readily. If you are menopausal, talk to your provider about topical estrogen, if you are a candidate for it.
Work with a pelvic physical therapist at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy. Our PTs provide whole body treatments that truly work to resolve urinary incontinence. If it were easy to solve incontinence, then you would have already figured it out on your own. We find that our patients struggle for a long time with incontinence and when they come to us, they are finally happy to have someone identify what is going on with their body to help this. Instead of just reading these tips to fix incontinence naturally, we believe you would benefit from the support and guidance of our pelvic physical therapists. Our one-on-one physical therapy appointments offer whole-body treatment and solutions for incontinence and go well beyond basic Kegels exercises. In fact, many of our patients do not complete Kegels at all.

If these tips to fix incontinence naturally overwhelm you, take the guesswork out of your problem and work with one of our PTs. Call 616-516-4334 to get your questions answered.

We know that urinary incontinence can be stubborn and difficult to resolve. We provide you a clear treatment program and framework to resolve your incontinence. What’s holding you back from getting started? We’ve been doing this work for years and are here to help! If you are interested in working with one of our licensed physical therapists to receive a solution to your urinary incontinence, call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or submit your questions here.

Working with a provider who specializes in this treatment offers you a higher level of customized care and opportunity to solve your incontinence problem. Our PTs offer in-person treatment in Grand Rapids or telehealth visits, for those who qualify. If you have questions about our treatment, cost or availability, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

We hope these tips to fix your incontinence naturally give you a starting point, but working with a pelvic PT truly gives you solutions.

Our pelvic and bladder physical therapy gives you natural, exercise-based and manual therapy treatment methods to resolve urinary incontinence. At Purple Mountain PT, our licensed physical therapists specialize in treating men, women and kids who have bladder, bowel or pain issues. We love to work with you and provide you insights into what is causing your problem and designing a treatment program for incontinence that is natural, without side effects. If you are interested in working with one of our licensed physical therapists to receive a solution to your urinary incontinence, call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or submit your questions here.

We offer in-person and telehealth visits, for those who qualify. This work is an honor for us and we are devoted to helping you overcome urinary incontinence. Don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more. 616-516-4334

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy and specialist in pelvic health, neck, back and TM joint physical therapy.

All information is for educational purposes and is not meant to treat you or substitute for working with your own physical therapist or physician.

Since you are looking for tips and natural treatments for urinary incontinence, you may be interested in these other articles we’ve written:

Physical Therapy for Male Incontinence in Grand Rapids

Is There A Connection Between Diabetes and Incontinence?

Endometriosis Physical Therapy Treatment in Grand Rapids

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Does Pelvic Floor Therapy Work for Prolapse?

What is High Tone Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

References for tips to fix incontinence naturally:

Brown, Heidi W., Candace Parker-Autry, and Angela L. Sergeant. “Bladder and Bowel Continence in Older Women.” Challenges in Older Women’s Health. Springer, Cham, 2021. 163-183.

Bump RC, McClish DK. Cigarette smoking and urinary incontinence in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1992;167:1213–1218.

Engstrom G, Walker-Engstrom ML, Loof L, Leppert J. Prevalence of three lower urinary tract symptoms in men-a population-based study. Fam Pract. 2003;20:7–10

Masterson, Thomas A., et al. “Comprehensive pelvic floor physical therapy program for men with idiopathic chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a prospective study.” Translational andrology and urology 6.5 (2017): 910.

Mobley D, Baum N. Smoking: Its Impact on Urologic Health. Rev Urol. 2015;17(4):220-5. PMID: 26839519; PMCID: PMC4735668.

Nelson RL, Furner SE. Risk factors for the development of fecal and urinary incontinence in Wisconsin nursing home residents. Maturitas. 2005;52:26–31.

Schmidbauer J, Temml C, Schatzl G, et al. Risk factors for urinary incontinence in both sexes. Analysis of a health screening project. Eur Urol. 2001;39:565–570.

Shamliyan TA, Wyman JF, Ping R, Wilt TJ, Kane RL. Male urinary incontinence: prevalence, risk factors, and preventive interventions. Rev Urol. 2009 Summer;11(3):145-65. PMID: 19918340; PMCID: PMC2777062.

Teunissen TA, van den Bosch WJ, van den Hoogen HJ, Lagro-Janssen AL. Prevalence of urinary, fecal and double incontinence in the elderly living at home. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2004;15:10–13. discussion 13.

Van Oyen H, Van Oyen P. Urinary incontinence in Belgium; prevalence, correlates and psychosocial consequences. Acta Clin Belg. 2002;57:207–218

Zhang AY, Strauss GJ, Siminoff LA. Effects of combined pelvic floor muscle exercise and a support group on urinary incontinence and quality of life of postprostatectomy patients. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2007;34:47–53.

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health physical therapist specializing in recovery of bladder control, bowel function and intimacy related concerns after prostatectomy and radiation therapy.

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

We are so glad you found this page and hope that the information in this article helps you learn about some of the things you can do to retrain your bladder after prostate removal. We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, a specialty pelvic health clinic located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We offer in-person and telehealth visits to men who are facing prostate cancer and experiencing bladder control issues following treatment. Physical therapy after prostatectomy and radiation therapy retrains bladder control and bowel control (for men who have bowel problems after radiation). There are also things you can do at home to help your bladder control recover after prostate cancer treatment. Here we will provide you information, including research backed recommendations for retraining bladder control after prostate removal, and tips you can implement today to help bladder control. Call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff or submit your questions here.

Read on to learn more about how to retrain your bladder plus some tips that you can implement at home!

If you are interested in learning more about physical therapy after prostatectomy, whether you would like an in-person visit or telehealth appointment, you can reach out to our staff at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If you are finding this article because you are going to have or already have had a prostate removal or radiation therapy, we’ve included helpful information here about retraining your bladder, pelvic floor muscle training and other considerations.

Our licensed physical therapists who specialize in bladder, bowel, pelvic pain and intimacy rehabilitation treat men before and after prostate removal as well as men who experience chronic prostatitis pain or other bladder, bowel or pelvic pain conditions. Bladder retraining physical therapy before and after prostatectomy is effective and works to decrease your incontinence, retrain your bladder function and improve your pain. For our patients, we also address erectile dysfunction and teach you what you can do at home to preserve your erectile tissues while your recovery is happening. If you are interested in learning more about pelvic PT treatments to retrain bladder control after prostate removal or radiation treatment, call us at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff or contact us here. Our physical therapists have post-graduate training and experience specific to male pelvic and prostate rehabilitation.

Physical therapy helps retrain the bladder after prostate removal.

Your bladder control will be impaired following your surgery to remove your prostate. This tends to be true even for men who have very experienced surgeons using nerve sparing techniques. The removal of the prostate disrupts your urethra and may change your bladder neck, which makes it harder to control your urine. The pelvic floor muscles are the key muscles that hold your urine in. Pelvic physical therapy will assess these muscles and teach you how to rehabilitate them. At Purple Mountain PT, our pelvic physical therapists are experienced in rehabilitation after prostatectomy and radiation therapy. If you are interested in inquiring about cost and availability of our licensed physical therapists, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Our physical therapists will begin your pelvic floor muscle training therapy to retrain your bladder control at your first appointment.

We find that men do not know how to control their pelvic floor muscles. We recommend that you come to physical therapy for two visits before you have your prostatectomy. That way, we can help you figure out where these muscles are and we teach you how to begin training them. This is called “prehab” and we have research supporting that these two visits, in conjunction with 12 weeks of post-prostatectomy physical therapy will retrain your bladder control and recover your continence quicker than if you don’t have physical therapy. If you are interested in inquiring about our PT for prostate cancer rehabilitation and working with our licensed physical therapists, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

In one recent study examining how to retrain the bladder after prostate removal, intensive pelvic floor physical therapy helped these men control their urine quicker than men who did not have bladder retraining PT.

Losing urine unexpectedly is depressing and anxiety producing. If you want to improve this problem, work with one of our licensed pelvic physical therapists to help you get better control. Each appointment is upto 55 minutes in length, private and with your doctor of physical therapy. We never bounce you around to other providers nor do we leave you alone to exercise by yourself while we treat another patient. Your treatment will be guided by your physical therapist and include extensive training to your pelvic floor muscles, core and breathing so that you can retrain bladder control after prostate removal. If you are interested in inquiring about our PT for pelvic floor muscle training, retraining bladder control and addressing any other issues (pain, bowel control, intimacy) that we provide in-person or via telehealth, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Why it is recommended to start physical therapy before your prostate removal. Research shows that Prehab helps you do better after surgery!

Before you’ve had surgery or radiation, you have an opportunity to discover where your bladder control muscles are located and begin practicing using these muscles, before the area is discombobulated from surgery or radiation. Two physical therapy prehab visits are what the research has recommended and can be invaluable to begin your pelvic floor muscle training exercises. If you are interested in inquiring about our prehab physical therapy for men facing prostate cancer treatment, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Doing pelvic floor bladder retraining exercises correctly, without using the wrong muscles, and without straining the bladder, prostate and pelvic region is an important part of your recovery.

Our pelvic physical therapists will work with you and teach you how to begin to train these muscles that help bladder control. The exercises are not easy, but with the experienced eyes of our licensed pelvic physical therapist, you will get the hang of how to engage the correct muscles. To inquire about our bladder retraining physical therapy, offered in-person or via telehealth, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Research has found that two prehab visits are beneficial and give you a plan for what to do following your prostatectomy or prostate radiation treatment.

Some men miss this window of opportunity to commence bladder retraining physical therapy and pelvic floor muscle training prior to their procedures. We can still help you if you don’t complete prehab, but our patients tell us that these two visits before their prostate removal are really helpful. If you are interested in inquiring about our PT for pelvic floor muscle training, retraining bladder control and addressing any other issues (pain, bowel control, intimacy) that we provide in-person or via telehealth, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

**Participants who underwent radical prostatectomy were divided into two groups and pelvic floor muscle training physical therapy began before their surgery for two visits and continued a***fter* surgery, for 12 weeks.

Control Group 1: Completed some pelvic floor training exercises. Not as intense or specific as Group 2

Control Group: 3 sets of exercise/day. Received basic and low intensity physical therapy instruction for their pelvic floor exercises. This included a PT appointment showing them pelvic floor muscle exercise instruction over 2 visits and instructions to complete daily pelvic floor muscle training at home. They were told to complete 3 sets of 10 exercises a day, lying down sitting or standing up. Basically, this group did 30 Kegels a day, holding them for 1o seconds and resting 10 seconds between each exercise.

Intervention Group 2: Completed more intense and focused pelvic floor training exercises under the guidance of a physical therapist and daily at home. Experienced quicker retraining of bladder control

Intervention group that completed more intensive physical therapy pelvic floor exercises when supervised for proper technique: 6 sets of exercises/day, targeting all pelvic floor muscle fibers. This group also received two PT visits prior to their surgery and 12 weeks of post-operative bladder retraining physical therapy. The pelvic floor exercises and bladder retraining for this group were more intense and extensive than Group 1. These men completed 6 sets of 10 pelvic floor exercises at home; different exercises than the first group completed. Their physical therapist instructed them in very detailed technique to properly engage the pelvic floor muscles without cheating. The exercises in this group were more intense, specifically targeting both the fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers of the pelvic floor. Compared to the first group, these men completed 12 weeks of more repetitions every day and held them for longer duration. The men in this group completed these exercises in standing. Participants were guided in physical therapy to avoid muscular substitution patterns and “cheating” with things like holding their breath, squeezing their glutes or other mal-adaptive techniques.

Group 2, the more intensive and specific pelvic floor muscle training program with a physical therapist got men back to controlling their urine faster!

The men in the intervention group with more intensive physical therapy and pelvic floor muscle training had better urinary incontinence improvement than the men in the control group.

2 weeks post op men who are dry (continent): Group 1: 4% Group 2: 14%

6 weeks post-op men who are dry (continent): Group 1: 11% Group 2: 32%

12 weeks post-op men who are dry (continent): Group 1: 43% Group 2: 74%

Our pelvic PTs are experienced in providing this intensive pelvic training physical therapy to retrain bladder control after prostate removal. If you are interested in inquiring about our PT for prostate cancer rehabilitation and working with our licensed physical therapists, contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Completing intensive pelvic floor training exercises, under the supervision of a physical therapist and daily at home, helps retraining of bladder control and faster return of urinary continence.

If you would like to know how to do these exercises, our licensed physical therapists are here to customize a bladder control rehab program for you. We will ensure you are correctly completing the pelvic floor training exercises and that you are not straining your surgical or irradiated area. We provide comprehensive treatment, so if you also have back, hip or abdominal concerns, we treat that as well. You will be given a focused home program to complete, as well. If you have questions about our bladder physical therapy program for men following prostate removal or radiation therapy contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

If you are wondering how to retrain bladder control after prostate removal, the research has been clear that you would benefit from pelvic physical therapy that includes specific and intensive pelvic floor training exercises.

Our PTs at Purple Mountain PT will teach you how to do these exercises. When in an appointment, we provide one-on-one care. This means that we never leave your side. We make certain you are completing the exercises properly, which is crucial for your recovery. Most of the men we work with “cheat” (not on purpose!) with contracting the wrong muscles, instead of the pelvic floor muscles. Working together, we will help you retrain your bladder control and resolve pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. We tell you what to do at home, because you will need to be committed to doing these exercises daily at home for about 12 weeks and sometimes longer. Most men tell us that their PT has given them hope, decreased their depression and helped them to feel they have something to work towards. If you are interested in inquiring about our PT for pelvic floor muscle training, retraining bladder control and addressing any other issues (pain, bowel control, intimacy), contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Our physical therapists are here to treat your bladder system and retrain bladder control!

Because our licensed physical therapists specialize in pelvic health, bladder, bowel and intimacy rehabilitation methods, we offer treatment that helps men following prostate removal. We provide holistic treatment to optimize bladder function. If you are interested learning more about pelvic floor muscle training, retraining bladder function and addressing any other issues (pain, bowel control, intimacy), contact us here or call 616-516-4334.

Your bladder needs to be able to:

Fill up with urine: We will help you retrain your bladder’s capacity to stretch and fill up.
Calmly hold the urine: Our physical therapy program for overactive bladder and urinary frequency and urgency help men following prostate removal and even men who simply have overactive bladder problems, unrelated to bladder cancer. After prostate removal, the continuous and insensible leakage of urine is a problem that our pelvic floor muscle training physical therapy can improve.
Empty the urine without difficulty: This is an important part of retraining your bladder and we will teach you and ensure that you are urinating with the optimal, relaxed technique that does not strain your pelvic floor, surgical area or bladder.
Empty fully: For your health, to avoid urinary tract infections, we want you to fully empty your bladder every time you urinate. Our bladder retraining physical therapy includes treatment to optimize the bladder muscle’s ability to fill up, hold urine and empty fully.

If you would like to receive physical therapy that helps your bladder recover its ability to fill up with urine, hold urine and empty, please call our office to speak with one of our staff. We can be reached at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Physical Therapy care following prostatectomy or radiation treatment will include specific training in how to control your urine, advice and procedures at home to preserve your erectile tissue and treatment to help fecal seepage, if you had radiation and experience this problem

At Purple Mountain PT, your appointments are in a private, comfortable treatment room or in our private gym space for exercise-based performance. They are one-on-one with your physical therapist, meaning that we never leave you with a lesser trained staff member. You are welcome to bring your spouse or partner and men have told us this has been helpful to have another set of ears to hear everything we teach you. If you are interested in working with our pelvic PTs who can support your prostatectomy recovery, please call our office to speak with one of our staff. We can be reached at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If you are unable to come to physical therapy, we offer a paid phone consultation to give you recommendations on bladder retraining.

Over the years, sometimes friends or family, who live across the country, would reach out for information about what they can do before their surgery or afterwards to help incontinence, pain, bladder function and erectile function. Friends and family over the years have given positive feedback and gratitude that the phone consultation is helpful; as a result, we offer a paid phone consultation option for individuals who would like to learn more about how to take care of their bladder control, bowel issues, erectile considerations and other concerns before and after prostatectomy or radiation treatment or during watchful waiting (active monitoring). If you may be interested in having a paid phone consultation with one of our pelvic PTs, call our office at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Tips you can implement for bladder retraining after prostate removal.

Drink enough water to not be thirsty. We advise that you do NOT limit your water intake. Talk to your medical team to find out how much water they feel is best for you. We cannot specifically tell you how much you need, but, in general, for bladder retraining you need sufficient water to allow your bladder to fill up, hold urine and empty fully. If you are always limiting your fluid intake your bladder may never experience this opportunity to fill up.
Avoid bladder irritants. Some drinks or foods irritate the bladder and can make it easier to have urinary incontinence after prostate removal. In general, we advise no alcohol until you are fully continent. Coffee and caffeine should be limited to zero or one drink/day.
If you are going to have a bladder irritant, dilute it with a glass of water beforehand.
Try to urinate about every two hours. Emptying your bladder more often than this is not retraining your bladder. If you are constantly dribbling and losing urine, talk to your doctor about options to help this. There are some devices that may help you during this recovery period.
Walk for exercise. We know you may leak, but we encourage walking every day for half an hour or more. Walking does activate and help rehabilitate the pelvic floor and hip muscles and this is part of your bladder retraining.
Relax when you urinate. Be conscientious to relax when urinating. Don’t push your urine out. Even at the end of urinating, do not push those last bits of urine out. Instead, to retrain your pelvic floor muscles and bladder control, we recommend teaching yourself to relax when urinating.
Talk to your physician about what you should be doing to preserve erectile tissue. Your erectile tissue benefits from erections and blood flow. Often physicians provide you with a prescription for erectile dysfunction, but you are not given clear instructions about the value of taking this to preserve erectile tissue. Ask your doctor about this.
Don’t ignore abdominal or pelvic pain. More often than you might think, our patients also experience abdominal pain (from robotic scars and the surgery), penile pain, perineal pain or anal pain. If this is the case, mention it to your provider and know that pelvic PT can help you. We specialize in treating male chronic pelvic pain, such as chronic prostatitis, testicular pain and tailbone pain. Don’t ignore your pain, physical therapy can help you.

To talk to one of our staff, call our office at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

All of our licensed PTs at Purple Mountain PT have training specific to male pelvic health rehabilitation, prostate cancer recovery and retraining bladder control after prostate removal.

This is an important distinction that sets Purple Mountain PT apart from others. We have not simply adapted “women’s health” PT to our men. We have specific male-focused pelvic health and prostate cancer rehabilitation training and experience helping men just like you. We love this work and consider it an honor to help you retrain your bladder control and address other prostatectomy rehab needs. If you may be interested in learning more about our pelvic PT program to retrain bladder control after prostate removal, call our office at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

All of the doctors of physical here at Purple Mountain PT have completed extensive post-graduate male-specific pelvic education for how to retrain the bladder after prostate removal and other pelvic floor problems that men experience.

We believe that physical therapy after prostatectomy, to retrain bladder control, should be standard of care. We know this is a difficult time in your life and we believe that you deserve to be fully supported by the experienced eye of our pelvic physical therapists. If you are sitting at home, unhappy with your bladder control and uncertain how to retrain your bladder after prostate removal?Our patients express gratitude to us and tell us that this treatment has improved their depression and anxiety regarding their urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. If you are interested in working with our pelvic PTs who can offer you this type of physical therapy care after prostatectomy, please call our office to speak with one of our staff. We can be reached at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT physical therapist specializing in pelvic rehabilitation for over two decades.

If you are curious about pelvic health physical therapy, these articles may be of interest to you:

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

Pelvic Pain PT in Grand Rapids

Urinary Incontinence Treatment in Grand Rapids

References:

Centemero A, Rigatti L, Giraudi D, Lazzeri M, Lughhezzeni G, Zugna D, Montorsi F, Rigatti P, Guazzoni G. Preoperative pelvic floor muscle exercise for early incontinence after radical prostatectomy: a randomised controlled study. Eur Urol. 2010;57:1039–43.

Christen WG, Gaziano JM, Hennekens CH. Design of Physicians’ Health Study II: A randomized trial of beta-carotene, vitamins E and C, and multivitamins, in prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and eye disease, and review of results of completed trials. Ann Epidemiol. 2000;10:125–134.

Milios, J.E., Ackland, T.R. & Green, D.J. Pelvic floor muscle training in radical prostatectomy: a randomized controlled trial of the impacts on pelvic floor muscle function and urinary incontinence. BMC Urol 19, 116 (2019).

Scott KM, Gosai E, Bradley MH, et al. Individualized pelvic physical therapy for the treatment of post-prostatectomy stress urinary incontinence and pelvic pain. [published online December 5, 2019]. Int Urol Nephrol. doi: 10.1007/s11255-019-02343-7.

Shikanov SA. A prospective report of changes in prostate cancer related quality of life after robotic prostatectomy. J Psych Oncol. 2011;29:1157–67.

Stark JR, Perner S, Stampfer MJ, Sinnott JA, Finn S, Eisenstein AS, Ma J, Fiorentino M, Kurth T, Loda M, Giovannucci EL, Rubin MA, Mucci LA. Gleason score and lethal prostate cancer: does 3 + 4 = 4 + 3? J Clin Oncol. 2009 Jul 20;27(21):3459-64.

Weber BA, Roberts BL, Mills TL. Physical and emotional predictors of depression after radical prostatectomy. Amer J Mens Health. 2008;2(2):165–71.

Is There A Connection Between Diabetes and Incontinence?

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic floor specialist

Is there a connection between diabetes and incontinence?

At Purple Mountain PT, we are pelvic floor physical therapists and we help people overcome stress urinary incontinence and any other bladder control problem. Today, we share various details about the connection between diabetes and incontinence. Your blood glucose levels are crucial numbers to know. Just as you should know your blood pressure, you should know your blood glucose levels and be on the look-out for them being too high. We know there is a connection between diabetes and incontinence as well as other diabetic bladder dysfunction (DBD); in fact, up to 50% of diabetics experience DBD. If you are interested in learning more about our physical therapy, or if you have questions about cost and availability, reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Type I diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and Prediabetes all have higher rates of incontinence. Diabetic bladder dysfunction (DBD) affects up to 50% of all diabetic patients and is well-known in the medical field.

There have been numerous studies investigating if there is a connection between diabetes or prediabetes and urinary incontinence and the results have consistently shown that the answer to be yes. Diabetic bladder dysfunction is a condition with a broad range of symptoms. The temporal theory of diabetic bladder dysfunction has identified that problems with bladder function begin one way and as time passes and your diabetes advances, your bladder problems will change. In the early phases of diabetes, the bladder may experience urgency, frequency and urge incontinence. In later phases of diabetic bladder dysfunction, a person experiences a sluggish bladder, causing incomplete emptying, loss of an urge to urinate, difficulty voiding and possibly overflow incontinence (literally your bladder is so full, the urine just overflows). Our licensed physical therapists help people who experience any bladder symptoms across the spectrum of problems that diabetic bladder dysfunction causes. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Numerous papers have confirmed that incontinence rates are elevated in women with type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetics and people with prediabetes also have higher rates of urinary incontinence. There is some research that suggests that weight loss may reduce incontinence in women with prediabetes. Also, as a pelvic PT, we know that weight loss helps most people who experience incontinence to reduce their unexpected loss of urine, even when you are non-diabetic. This is because excess weight in the abdomen or trunk places greater strain through the genitourinary system and renders it easier to lose control of urine. If you are struggling with fitness and weight, in part because of bladder control issues, and you also have diabetes or prediabetes, we can help you. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

At Purple Mountain PT, we specialize in providing pelvic PT for all bladder function disorders, including diabetic bladder dysfunction, urinary incontinence and painful bladder syndrome

Our licensed physical therapists are specifically trained in rehabilitation for pelvic floor dysfunction, urinary incontinence bladder, bowel and intimacy related pelvic health problems. Our experience includes helping individuals who are prediabetic and diabetic overcome their bladder problems. By providing comprehensive and whole-body therapy to address urinary incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction, we help you get control over your bladder again. Our post-doctoral training specific to bladder function, optimization and control helps individuals resolve urinary incontinence, neurogenic bladder, urgency and frequency, nocturia and interstitial cystitis (bladder pain syndrome), constant urinary urge, incomplete bladder emptying, post-prostatectomy incontinence and other bladder related disorders. If you would like to learn more about our therapy for people who experience diabetes or prediabetes and also have urinary incontinence or other bladder dysfunction, call us at (616) 516-4334 to have your questions answered or contact us here.

What You Can Do if you have Diabetes and Stress or Urge Urinary Incontinence

First, you must be working diligently on optimizing blood glucose levels. We can provide you recommendations on exercise and diet to help you and we also advise you to work with a dietician, functional medicine practitioner and your physician to get the right medical management in place.

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a proven method of resolving stress and urge urinary incontinence, including in people who are prediabetic or diabetic. In most cases, the cause of the incontinence is more than the diabetes and prediabetes. Our PT works to address all the causes that we commonly find in patients. This may include weak core, diastasis recti abdominis, pelvic organ prolapse, improper breathing patterns, deficient glutes and leg strength, pelvic floor weakness, pelvic floor stiffness, pelvic floor high tone or another pelvic floor dysfunction. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Stress Urinary Incontinence is Associated with Elevated Blood Glucose Levels

Stress Urinary Incontinence affects about half of all women. It may be surprising that it is associated with elevated blood glucose level, but if you think about how diabetes affects everything in your body, it should not be surprising. However, we want to point out that most of our patients who have stress incontinence are not diabetic or prediabetic; there are so many contributions to stress incontinence that have nothing to do with blood glucose. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

In a 2022 study, completed by Ying, et al, they examined stress urinary incontinence rates in 10,771 women and also monitored their blood glucose.

They found that people who experience weekly stress urinary incontinence had blood glucose levels that were consistently higher than the blood glucose levels of people who had less stress incontinence, experience it just monthly (not weekly).

The participants were divided into 3 groups, based on blood glucose:

*<86 mg/dl

*>86 to 98 mg/dl

*>98 mg/dl

What they found was the higher the blood glucose, the more prevalent stress incontinence was.

In fact, the people in the group >98 mg/dl had a 15.2% higher risk of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) being present and also a 12.5% higher risk of the stress urinary incontinence happening more frequently than the people whose blood glucose was <86 mg/dl. This is one more reason to better manage your blood glucose levels. Exercise is one pathway to improving your blood glucose. The more muscle you have in your body, the better your blood glucose can be. Our licensed physical therapists can help you start and develop a safe, effective workout routine if you are diabetic or prediabetic and if you have any bladder issues, including incontinence. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Stress incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine when you laugh, cough, sneeze, jump or otherwise perform an action or movement that strains your bladder and causes unwanted leakage of urine.

In women, stress incontinence is known to be multifactorial in nature, so don’t assume you have diabetes or prediabetes if you experience stress incontinence. Contributions to developing stress incontinence include:

The anatomy of the bladder and urethra render it more difficult for women to generate force closure pressure to stop the involuntary loss of urine
The urethral closure mechanism often is defective, even when your bladder (detrusor muscle) is not contracting. Thus, your bladder muscle may be appropriately quiet, but your urethra is open, instead of closed and you leak urine.
The loss of support of the urethra or neuromuscular defects in the urethra are thought to contribute to stress incontinence.
Pelvic floor dysfunction characterized by insufficient strength, length, timing and coordination of the pelvic floor muscles when necessary to stop the loss of urine.
Diabetes and prediabetes are risk factors for developing stress urinary incontinence.
Pregnancy and number of pregnancies is a risk factor for developing stress incontinence.
Girth of your abdomen is a risk factor for developing incontinence.

If you have urinary incontinence and would like to get care from our licensed physical therapists who specialize in pelvic health and resolving urinary incontinence, we are here to help you. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

The connection between diabetes and incontinence is clear when you look at the rates of incontinence within the diabetic community.

Just a glance at the rates of incontinence within the diabetic community across 3 studies illustrates the point:

50.5% of women who were diabetic reported urinary incontinence.
38% of American women who have diabetes mellitus were found to have urinary incontinence.
28.8% of Norwegian women who are diabetic were found to also experience stress incontinence.

In diabetics, stress incontinence has a higher rate of problems than other types of incontinence (urge incontinence, for example). We also know that people can experience stress incontinence and have normal blood sugar levels. So, while there is a connection between diabetes and incontinence, you should not assume that if you are having incontinence, that you have elevated blood glucose levels. We work with people who have incontinence, whether you have diabetes or excellent blood sugar control. If you would like to ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

23% of diabetics have reduced detrusor (bladder muscle) contractility, consistent with diabetic bladder dysfunction (DBD).

A person who experiences diabetic cystopathy has a gradual change in the urinary patterns and development of a decreased need to urinate. When the bladder muscle doesn’t contract and generate a signal that you need to urinate, you may go long hours without feeling an urge to urinate. When this is the case, a person may experience trouble starting their urinary stream or keeping the urine flowing to fully empty their bladder. The natural reflexes that should be occurring to allow for healthy urination are sluggish and urinary retention occurs. If a person is not emptying their bladder regularly, they may develop overflow urinary incontinence, another connection between diabetes and incontinence. If you are experiencing bladder control issues that you suspect are related to your prediabetes or diabetes, we are here to help you. Feel free to reach out and ask questions about our services, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

The Unique Risks that Women Experience Related to Blood Glucose

As women progress through perimenopause, their hormones change and insulin resistance tends to occur. Women who have PCOS are also found to have insulin resistance and high blood sugar. Unfortunately, diabetes effects women in ways that are truly dangerous.

How’s Your Glycemic Control? Ask your doctor for bloodwork

Worsening glycemic control is associated with an increased risk for stress incontinence for women with relatively controlled diabetes. For those either below the diagnostic threshold or with poorly controlled diabetes, the risk may be driven by other factors. Further prospective investigation of HbA1c as a modifiable risk factor may motivate measures to improve continence in women with diabetes.

-Quote from Wang, Rui BA et al Diabetes, Glycemic Control, and Urinary Incontinence in Women, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: September/October 2015 – Volume 21 – Issue 5 – p 293-297

See your doctor and ask for blood work, at the minimum, for Hemoglobin A1C and fasting blood glucose.

This is the minimum blood work, because a comprehensive panel should also look into your triglycerides, cholesterol and fasting insulin. You may also benefit from labs to look into your female hormone levels and thyroid levels. We also recommend that you discuss your urinary incontinence with your medical provider, especially because there is a connection between diabetes and incontinence.

We also help people who experience pelvic pain, including diabetic neuropathy

At Purple Mountain PT we are known for helping individuals overcome complex pelvic pain conditions. We recognize that individuals who have diabetes or prediabetes may also experience chronic pelvic pain as a result of the changes that can occur in the nerves of the pelvis. Our licensed physical therapists have experience and training specific to rehabilitating the neuroanatomy of the abdomen and pelvis. We have written about our PT for pelvic pain here and welcome you to call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here for more information.

If You Are Interested in Improving Your Urinary Incontinence and Blood Glucose Levels, we are Here to Help!

Our licensed physical therapists have advanced training specific to exercise rehabilitation for urinary incontinence, blood glucose optimization and bone health. As pelvic floor physical therapists, we commonly help women overcome bladder control problems at all stages of their life. We know there is a connection between diabetes and incontinence. We also know there is a strong connection between bladder problems, including urinary incontinence and a weak core, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, hip and gluteal deficiencies, improper breathing patterns, postural mal-alignment and more. If we can help you to build more muscle, to strengthen your entire core and to optimize your posture and breathing strategies, your incontinence and diabetes can both improve. We work in partnership with you to identify the numerous causes of your incontinence and help you to resolve these. If you are looking for expert help for your urinary incontinence, blood sugar control problems, bone health, back pain, hip pain or postpartum recovery, call us at (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or reach out to us here and we will be happy to connect!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy. Specialist in pelvic floor dysfunction, voiding dysfunction, bowel disorders, pregnancy and postpartum recovery, intimacy pain, TM joint disorders, perimenopause and menopause health, bone health, neck, back and hip problems.

Citations:

Birnbaum H, Leong S, Kabra A. Lifetime medical costs for women: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stress urinary incontinence. Womens Health Issues. 2003 Nov-Dec;13(6):204-13. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2003.07.001. PMID: 14675789.

Brown, J. S., Wessells, H., Chancellor, M. B., Howards, S. S., Stamm, W. E., Stapleton, A. E., Steers, W. D., Van Den Eeden, S. K., and McVary, K. T. (2005). Urologic complications of diabetes. Diabetes Care 28, 177–185

Daneshgari, F., Liu, G., Birder, L., Hanna-Mitchell, A. T., & Chacko, S. (2009). Diabetic bladder dysfunction: current translational knowledge. The Journal of urology, 182(6 Suppl), S18–S26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2009.08.070

Fedele, D. (2005). Therapy insight: sexual and bladder dysfunction associated with diabetes mellitus. Nat. Clin. Pract. Urol. 2, 282–290

Golbidi, Saeid, and Ismail Laher. “Bladder dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.” Frontiers in pharmacology vol. 1 136. 16 Nov. 2010, doi:10.3389/fphar.2010.00136

Klee Nicole S., McCarthy Cameron G., Lewis Steven, McKenzie Jaine L., Vincent Julie E., Webb R. Clinton Urothelial Senescence in the Pathophysiology of Diabetic Bladder Dysfunction—A Novel Hypothesis. Frontiers in Surgery VOL. 5, 2018.

Manning, J., Korda, A., Benness, C., and Solomon, M. (2003). The association of obstructive defecation, lower urinary tract dysfunction and the benign joint hypermobility syndrome: a case control study. Int. Urogynecol. J. Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 14, 128–132.

Moore, K. N., Saltmarche, B., and Query, A. (2003). Urinary incontinence. Non-surgical management by family physicians. Canadian Family Physician 49, 602–610.

Phelan S, Grodstein F, Brown JS. Clinical research in diabetes and urinary incontinence: what we know and need to know. J Urol. 2009;182(6 Suppl):S14-S17. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2009.07.087

Van Poppel, H., Stessens, R., Van Damme, B., Carton, H., and Baert, L. (1998). Diabetic cystopathy: neuropathological examination of urinary bladder biopsies. Eur. Urol. 15, 128–131

Wang, Rui BA; Lefevre, Roger MD; Hacker, Michele R. ScD, MSPH; Golen, Toni H. MD Diabetes, Glycemic Control, and Urinary Incontinence in Women, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: September/October 2015 – Volume 21 – Issue 5 – p 293-297

Ying, Youyou BS^∗; Xu, Linlin BS^∗; Huang, Ruofei BS^∗; Chen, Tianxi BS^†; Wang, Xinghong BS^‡; Li, Ke BS^∗; Tang, Lixia BS^∗ Relationship Between Blood Glucose Level and Prevalence and Frequency of Stress Urinary Incontinence in Women, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: May 2022 – Volume 28 – Issue 5 – p 304-310 doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001112

Yoshimura, N., Chancellor, M. B., Andersson, K. E., and Christ, G. J. (2005). Recent advances in understanding the biology of diabetes-associated bladder complications and novel therapy. BJU Int. 95, 733–738

Bladder Physical Therapy Near Grand Rapids

If you are looking for Bladder Physical Therapy near Grand Rapids, you have found the right place.

Are you tired of bladder problems? Frustrated and uncertain about what is going on and how to get it better? Have you tried kegels or other at-home solutions and find this problem just doesn’t change? If this sounds like you, we have natural, effective bladder physical therapy solutions to your issues. We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, a specialty pelvic health, bladder, bowel, pelvic pain and TM joint physical therapy clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our PTs offer in-person and remote consultations to men, women and kids who have bladder or bowel problems. If you are interested to learn more about our PT, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or submit your questions here.

Our patients travel from all over Michigan and surrounding states to receive their treatment with us because we have been doing this for years and our comprehensive and advanced treatment methods work.

We enjoy helping people overcome all bladder problems. When you work with our physical therapists for your bladder PT, you will receive care from providers devoted to understanding how to treat simple to complex bladder conditions. We have advanced post-doctoral training specific to the needs of pediatric, women’s health and men’s bladder condition. Each population has unique needs to solve their bladder problems and our PTs will customize your treatment based on what you require. If you are interested to learn more about our PT, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or submit your questions here.

Bladder Physical Therapy is Natural and Works to Improve Your Strength, Bladder Function, Posture, Core Engagement, Breathing and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Some of our patients have tried medications for things like overactive bladder and they don’t like the idea of being on a medication; especially one that is costly, may cause memory issues or leads to constant dry mouth or constipation. Other patients are considering surgery to provide a bladder lift, but they know that surgery is a big deal and may not provide lasting results. Our patients come to us looking for natural, effective solutions for their problem and most of them understand that physical therapy offers this. Reach out to us here if you would like to learn more.

In contast to medical options, bladder physical therapy uses natural, non-invasive methods to bring your bladder problem back to a state of homeostasis.

Our natural remedies for bladder incontinence, pain, frequency and urgency and other problems give you long-term results and use the power of your own body to resolve your problems. The treatment we provide addresses your muscles, fascia, breathing, nervous system, spine and bladder control center to help you. Most of our patients leave appointments and tell us they feel so much better and more hopeful. This work is rewarding for us. If you’d like to connect with our team, call 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

We use pelvic floor muscle training, corrective exercise, movement & posture retraining, manual therapies (to your spine, hips, thighs, abdomen or pelvic floor), heart rate variability training, bladder calming techniques and more to improve your bladder control and function.

If you are interested in natural treatmens for your bladder problems and would like to work with our pelvic PTs for bladder physical therapy treatment (offered in-person in Grand Rapids, with telehealth or a remote consultation for those who quality), call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or reach out to us here.

Our Bladder Physical Therapists in Grand Rapids or via Telehealth will Provide You Comprehensive, Whole-Body Treatments Designed to Restore Bladder Function and Control.

The whole-body care that we offer is more comprehensive than our patients have received elsewhere. Because of our advanced training, we understand that the bladder functions within the system of you entire body and treating your entire spine, abdomen, hips, movement patterns, bladder, nervous system and strength is important to recover bladder function. If you are tired of your bladder problems and are wanting a natural solution, that improves your overall health, strength, back pain, and pelvic floor dysfunction, our bladder physical therapy offers you this. Getting started is easy: just call our office to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members. During that conversation, we like to learn a bit about what is going on with your bladder to determine if our bladder physical therapy could help you. We also like to answer your questions and explain what to expect in PT. We offer in-person bladder physical therapy, telehealth visits or remote consultations for those who qualify. Call 616-516-4334 to have this conversation or submit your questions here.

What Kinds of Bladder Issues does Pelvic Floor Bladder Physical Therapy Help?

Our pelvic PTs treat all ranges and types of bladder problems from simple to complex. Because we specialize in bladder physical therapy, we have advanced training beyond our doctoral degrees that allows us to provide comprehensive and helpful bladder physical therapy treatments so we can help restore your bladder function. While some patients come to us with more straight-forward issues such as stress urinary incontinence, many of our patients have combined issues of stress incontinence with urinary frequency and urgency and low back pain. Our PTs can help you. Reach out to us here or call 616-516-4334 to learn more.

The bladder should be able to quietly fill up and hold urine until it reaches a point of needing to empty, contract to empty when you are using the toilet and be quiet, without pain between urinations.

Our patients have problems somewhere along that bladder filling, holding, emptying journey. If you are interested to learn more about our PT, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or reach out to us here. If you are wondering what kind of bladder conditions we treat, here is an abbreviated list:

Nocturia, a problem of waking at night to pee.

Urinary urgency and frequency

Interstitial cystitis (bladder pain syndrome)

Endometriosis-related bladder problems

Stress urinary incontinence (leakage with laugh, cough, movement, jumping or sneez

Post-partum bladder control problems and overactive bladder symptoms.

Pelvic organ prolapse that contributes to bladder problems, such as incontinence, split stream, recurrent urinary tract infections

Recurrent urinary tract infections, especially when related to pelvic floor dysfunction

Post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence. Or following prostate radiation treatments

Constant urge to urinate, lower abdominal pain or bladder spasms.

Neurogenic bladder and difficulty starting their urinary stream

The kids we treat often have constipation, bedwetting or daytime loss of urine (enuresis).

Does Bladder Physical Therapy Work?

Yes. There is high quality evidence from a Cochrane Review, the leading organization that looks at all published research and summarizes the findings, that bladder physical therapy that includes pelvic floor muscle training (which our PTs teach you!) helps stress urinary incontinence and other types of urinary incontinence. Our experience has found that creating the proper treatment program that includes whole-body movement retraining and addresses pelvic floor muscle dysfunction is important to getting you results. This is why we use exercise, balance retraining, postural correction, biofeedback, hands-on treatments and more to get you results. If you are interested to learn more about our PT, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or submit your questions here.

So, You Offer Bladder Physical Therapy in Grand Rapids or with a Remote Consultation? I’ve never head of this type of PT, what makes you different than other physical therapists?

Our physical therapists specificially specialize in treating pelvic health conditions for women, men and kids. We have advanced training and considerable experience in this field. We treat bladder, bowel, prolapse, pregnancy and postpartum problems, chronic pelvic pain, SIJ pain, coccy pain (tailbone), endometriosis, Pudendal neuralgia, sciatica, all bladder problems, prostate related bladder issues and more. We are also fully trained and experienced orthopedic physical therapists, which provides us the ability to give you whole-body care. The pelvic floor muscles line the base of the pelvis and are impacted by all spine and leg movements, which is why we work on your whole body to improve bladder conditions. For more information about our bladder physical therapy, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or reach out to us here.

What we do is commonly called “pelvic floor physical therapy” and the speciality that our PTs have at Purple Mountain PT may be called by a number of terms, such as:

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists
Pelvic Health Physical Therapists
Bladder Physical Therapists
Pelvic Physical Therapist
Women’s Health Physical Therapist
Specialists in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Pediatric Bladder and Bowel Physical Therapist

All of these labels simply let you know that we are Doctors of Physical Therapy who have completed advanced post-doctoral training specific to pelvic health, which involves bladder, bowel, intimacy, pain and prolapse related issues.

At Purple Mountain PT because we specialize in bladder physical therapy in-person in Grand Rapids, via telehealth or a remote consultation, we offer difficult-to-find expertise and treatment methods to help your bladder. Our clinic provides you a private, comfortable place to receive your one-on-one treatments with your PT. Every visit is upto 55 minutes in length and may include a combination of nervous system calming, pelvic floor therapy, exercises, manual therapy, alignment corrections or other therapeutic methods. As pelvic health physical therapy specialists, we have knowledge about all the areas of the body. This is because the pelvic floor, bladder and bowel have connections to the hips, spine, thighs, calves and feet, shoulder blades, diaphragm, rib cage and thoracic spine. Therefore, a bladder physical therapist is truly an expertly trained orthopedic physical therapist who knows the specifics of how to help your bladder. If you are interested to learn more about our bladder physical therapy treatment, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or ask a question here.

Bladder physical therapy will help optimize your bladder’s ability to fill up, hold urine without leaking, empty and have no pain!

Our patients come to us with problems related to any portion of the bladder function. Common complaints we treat include

Stress urinary incontinence: the involuntary loss of urine when laughing, coughing, sneezing or exercising
Urge urinary incontinence: the involuntary loss of urine because you cannot get to the bathroom soon enough
Mixed urinary incontinence: you have loss of urine that might involve both stress and urge incontinence
Insensible urinary incontinence: Loss of urine simply happens, not necessary related to any activities or having a full bladder
Urinary retention: you cannot empty your bladder at all. Or you can only partially empty your bladder. You may need to self catheterize
Urinary frequency: You need to urinate more often than every 2-4 hours
Urinary urgency: You experience sudden urges to urinate and cannot hold it long
Nocturia: A person wakes up at night to urinate. This disrupts sleep.
Painful urination: You feel pain anywhere in your abdomen or pelvis before, during or after peeing.
Frequent urinary tract infections: You keep getting infections and don’t know why. We find you may have incomplete emptying of your bladder that is related to dysfunctional voiding and pelvic floor dysfunction
Slow urinary stream: you hear other people’s urinations in a public restroom and you are jealous, it sounds so much stronger than yours. Your stream may stop and start.
Straining to urinate: You must push your urine out, it won’t come on its own.
Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome: You have a combination of pain and urinary frequency and urgency.
E hlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) related bladder problems
Diabetic bladder.

As Pelvic Health Physical Therapy specialists, we offer insights and treatment techniques that are natural and help you recover bladder function, including resolving bladder pain, incontinence, overactive bladder or other bladder problems.

Our pelvic physical therapists partner with you to identify how we can best optimize your bladder function and to provide you care that is holisitic, compassionate and designed to address your goals and ease your frustration about your bladder.

If you are wondering how does bladder physical therapy help your problem, the easiest way to explain it is that we help restore your bladder and pelvic floor muscles’ ability to function. We do this using a variety of hands-on treatment directed anywhere from your neck to your toes such as myofascial release, trigger point release, muscle balancing, pelvic and low back gentle mobilizations, hip alignment, visceral mobilization and therapeutic massage. We may combine these manual therapy techniques with exercise based treatments designed to optimize the coordination and timing of your bladder control, to improve pelvic floor dysfunction and address strength or flexibility imbalances. We also provide instructions on how to optimize your bladder function at home. This may include fluid intake, posture, toileting methods, constipation mitigation or other advice to improve your control. If you are interested to learn more about our bladder physical therapy treatment, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or contact us here.

Our evaluation and treatment is holistic and designed to address all contributing factors in your bladder dysfunction. These may include

Pelvic floor dysfunction: including high tone pelvic floor, weakness, tightness
Impaired timing and coordination of the pelvic floor muscles
Improper breathing mechanics that strain the bladder
Low back and hip contributions to your bladder condition
Postural contributions to your bladder condtiion
Fascia restrictions in viscerosomatic convergence areas related to your bladder. These include your thoracic spine, lower back, hips, thighs and abdominal wall.
Scar tissue that is impairing your bladder. This may be related to prior pelvic surgeries, endometriosis, pregnancy or postpartum injuries or trauma.
Food sensitivities
Bowel contributions: an unhealthy bowel can set off a bladder and disrupt optimal bladder control. This is true of everyone, but for children constipation impairs bladder control possibly more than adults. For our patients who have diarrhea, IBS, constipation or other bowel condition, we would like to partner with you to address this.
Non-optimal habits with exercise/fitness/running/jumping that overload the pelvic floor and overwhelm your bladder control system

Your goals and needs are at the center of our treatment. We will partner with you and create a pelvic physical therapy plan customized to your body’s needs.

Our patients tell us that this has been the most important thing they have done for themselves. I founded Purple Mountain Physical Therapy in Grand Rapids to provide bladder physical therapy to our community and beyond. Having worked in this field for 25 years, most of them in Chicago, I have experience working with some of the top medical centers that treat bladder problems; these include Northwestern, Rush and Loyola. My goal is to provide patients with compassionate, effective bladder physical therapy treatment in Grand Rapids or via telehealth that is holistic, effective and compassionate. If you wonder if bladder physical therapy could help you, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or ask a question here.

Bladder physical therapy that includes pelvic floor muscle training has been found to improve your quality of life and to improve your bladder symptoms!

As part of our focus on pelvic health, bladder problems and pelvic pain, we are active in professional societies and are mindful of what the research has found, so we can offer you treatment that is effective. One thing that has consistently been found to help bladder problems is pelvic floor muscle training exercises. This type of exercises goes well beyond the widely mis-understood concept of a Kegel exercise and includes focused instruction of how to properly coordinate the pelvic floor muscles within your entire bladder control system. Our PTs include pelvic floor muscle training treatment that incorporates postural correction, diaphragmatic breathing, core muscle strength, hip & low back treatment, coordination of the pelvic floor muscles with the rest of the bladder control system and more. The treatment we provide is consistent with research that has found that bladder physical therapy, from a pelvic health PT specialist, can improve symptom severity and quality of life. If you are interested to learn more about our bladder physical therapy treatment, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or submit your questions here.

People who have urinary urgency and frequency benefit from the treatment we offer to improve hip strength

Bladder control problems are not straight-forward to resolve. Our PTs have devoted our careers to learning about bladder function and best ways to reduce issues. We have included strengthening of your low back, hips and abdominals into the treatment program for some people, depending of their symptoms and findings. Research has found that urinary urgency and frequency problems also involve weakness of the hip muscles, specifically hip abduction and external rotation. Our PTs have included strength training exercises for these muscles for years and our clinical experience has found that these are one (of many) thing to be addressed to help urinary frequency and urgency. If you are interested to learn more about our bladder physical therapy treatment, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or submit your questions here.

We understand that sometimes the idea of starting a pelvic physical therapy is overwhelming and you don’t know what to expect. We’re here to take the anxiety out of this.

Our clinic provides you a private, welcoming place to receive your care. We focus on pelvic health and TM joint disorders, so everything has been set up here for your comfort, discretion and privacy. Our PTs enjoy getting to know you and will help you to reach your goals. We begin treatment with an evaluation, which includes you sharing your history and symptoms and an assessment of relevant areas that may be contributing to your bladder issues. This may include your posture, overall strength, pelvic floor muscle function, breathing, abdominal wall integrity (such as scars, elongation from pregnancy, diastasis recti abdominis), fascia in your thoracic spine, low back, hips, thighs, or other areas specific to your symptoms. To learn more about our bladder physical therapy treatment, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or reach out to us here.

We treat women, men and kids who have bladder problems. And our treatment methods are specific to each person’s needs. We do NOT simply apply “women’s health” bladder physical therapy treatment to a child or a man. Our pelvic physical therapists are trained the specific needs of children, men and women.

Women’s bladder needs are unique. We understand pelvic organ prolapse, pregnancy and postpartum recovery, recurrent urinary tract infections and female specific challenges across the lifespan.

Our pelvic PTs enjoy working with women throughout the lifespan and have post-graduate training and many years’ experience helping women through their college years, pregnancy & postpartum recovery, peri-menopause and menopause years. Our needs change throughout our lifespan and our PTs offer you what you need for bladder control and other pelvic or TM joint problems at all stages of life. You will receive customized treatment that addresses your unique needs. We know that bladder control problems are a risk factor for women needing assisted living in her elderly years. If you are having incontinence in your younger years, it is important to get that addressed. Why wait for it to worsen? Help is available today. Call 616-516-4334 to chat with one of our team members or contact us here.

Male bladder needs are different than female. Your anatomy is different and while everyone is different, males tends towards pelvic floor, hip and low back stiffness and tension that can cause urinary urgency, frequency, pelvic pain or other bladder issues.

Our male-specific training and experience gives men effective bladder physical therapy that is directed to the unique needs of male anatomy and bladder function. We work with men at all ages and address all bladder problems that men experience, including tip of penis or testicular pain, constant urge to urinate, post-void dribbling, incontinence, urgency and frequency, chronic prostatitis and post-prostatectomy bladder training. For more informationn about our bladder physical therapy treatment in Grand Rapids Michigan or via remote consult, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or contact us here.

Pediatric bladder needs require specific training for kiddos. We offer that!

Pediatric bladder patients often benefit external treatment methods and exercises that may help them practice and learn how to listen to the signal of their body, address underlying constipation and direct their mindfulness to feeling when they need to urinate. We use positive, encouraging methods with all of our patients and find our developmentally appropriate methods for little ones creates an uplifting and encouraging experience for them. If you are interested to learn more about our bladder physical therapy treatment, call us today at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff or submit your questions here.

Bladder physical therapy won’t work if we don’t treat the many things contributing to your symptoms.

At Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, we are devoted to improving pelvic pain and bladder problems, so you get results. That’s why we offer whole body care and treatments that are compassionate, trauma-informed and effective. I have established Purple Mountain PT with your needs in mind. This is why every appointment is private, one-on-one with your licensed physical therapist upto 55 minutes in length. Our clinical experience has taught us that we must give you a full, complete treatment at each visit to get you the results. We never have you work with a lesser trained person and we do not leave you to exercise on your own during an appointment. We are by your side, correcting your movement patterns, cuing your muscular coordination and helping you get the most out of each visit. If you are interested in working with experienced pelvic PTs who focus on providing bladder physical therapy, we are located in Grand Rapids and offer in-person care or remote consults.

If you are interested in learning more, call our office at 616.516.4334. We are located at 847 Parchment Drive SE Grand Rapids, Michigan; this is near the I-96 and Cascade Road exit. We have convenient parking and a warm, welcoming staff. We are here to serve you and meet your needs.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT physical therapist and founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy. We are specialists in providing bladder physical therapy to men, women and children in Grand Rapids or via remote consultation. For more information about our bladder physical therapy treatments, call us today at 616-516-4334 or submit your questions here.

How Do You Feel About Your Postpartum Recovery? Would Pelvic PT help you?

Being Pregnant and Postpartum can be an Overwhelming Experience and Definitely Changes Our Body! Pelvic Floor PT is a Key Component of Your Postpartum Recovery.

Each of us will experience our unique emotional reactions to the changes in our body! You don’t have to know all the answers. Expert help from a pelvic floor PT will take your postpartum recovery to the next level!

How do these changes in your postpartum body make you feel? What do you think about your body now? If you are struggling with disappointment in your pregnant or postpartum body, we can help you get back to feeling more like yourself when you join us to complete a postpartum PT recovery program. Pregnancy and the postpartum period carry a risk of low back pain, pelvic girdle pain (such as SI joint pain, pubic bone pain, coccyx pain), painful sex, pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti abdominus and urinary incontinence. This is quite a long list, actually, of unfortunate things that you be experiencing as a result of being pregnant. The good news is that working with us will give you a comprehensive evaluation and treatment program to ensure you get your body back into top form. Pregnancy changes our posture, breathing, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, bladder, bowels and sex life. We can help you recover all of these things! Contact us to start seeing results sooner than later!

What should your postpartum recovery program look like and include? Pelvic floor PT help you get your body back and return to an active life!

Check you for a diastasis recti abdominus and develop a program of recovery from this.
Evaluate and treat every muscle of your pelvic floor to determine how each one is working and to get each one to come back to function.
Teach you how to recover optimal breathing function, which was disrupted when you were pregnant and the baby moved your diaphragm. Recovering breathing is crucial to recovering your pelvic floor function.
Take you through a progressive exercise program to restore your pelvic floor strength, coordination, function and speed.
Address your posture, especially increased midback hunch, tight shoulders, forward head and tilted pelvis. Pregnancy changes your fascia and postural alignment and we look at this and help you correct it.
Optimize your pelvic organ support, a very important part of addressing pelvic organ prolapse.
Strengthen your back and abdominals so you can confidently lift your baby and everything else you need to lift.
Get you back to higher level activities including jumping, skipping and running.

Research confirms that exercise and hands-on care for pregnant women can help their low back pain

“Exercise (any exercise on land or in water), may reduce pregnancy‐related low‐back pain and any exercise improves functional disability and reduces sick leave more than usual prenatal care. Evidence from single studies suggests that acupuncture or craniosacral therapy improves pregnancy‐related pelvic pain, and osteomanipulative therapy or a multi‐modal intervention (manual therapy, exercise and education) may also be of benefit.”

Liddle SD, Pennick V. Interventions for preventing and treating low‐back and pelvic pain during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD001139. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001139.pub4. Accessed 11 July 2022.

Pregnancies and a live baby were hard to come by in my experience.

I was one of the healthiest people I knew. I was fit and active. I was a physical therapist and knew how to help women through their pregnancy. I had a regular cycle and zero clue that becoming a mother would take years of tears, pregnancy losses, hopelessness and digging in. I had to discover holistic ways to facilitate fertility, I had to work on stress/mind/body/spirit. I had to call on my faith to get us through this. I did just about everything under the sun to facilitate becoming a mother. If you have experienced infertility you know what I’m talking about. Yep, I did everything. Everything.

My postpartum experience wasn’t so peachy, either. I had to do extensive pelvic floor PT, abdominal wall recovery and rebuilding my strength and conditioning.

In my first 30 days postpartum I had emergency surgeries and spent ten hellish days in the hospital. My family was amazing and scared to death for me. It is not an exaggeration to say it looked like I wasn’t going to make it. The will got drawn up in the hospital bed and the priest came. It was a serious and dangerous and God-awful experience. I had two kids under two years old who were not allowed at the hospital. My family and friends were amazing and provided around the clock care for our kids, with my husband shuttling between the hospital and the two locations where our kids were staying. My family wanted to touch base with me or my husband each hour to see how I was doing, because it seemed to change rapidly and would go downhill fast. We were desperate to get me stable, but the roller coaster had begun and it was decidedly out of control. And, remember, I was one of the healthiest people I knew! I was an athlete, super healthy eater, had come to pregnancy after completing years of holistic healing. And. Still. It. All. Went. Wrong. Until it went right! Yay! Eventually I stabilized and got to go home, exhausted and uncertain if I would be able to take care of our two kids. And my body was a wreck. My pelvic floor was a disaster (so many surgeries and my labor and delivery had done a number on me), my abdominal wall had a huge diastasis recti abdominus, all of my body muscles had atrophied. I remember looking at my calves when I was in the hospital and shedding a tear at how atrophied they became. It happened so quickly, over a matter of two weeks. My OBGyne said “well, you’ve lost all of your pregnancy weight and then some.” And I remember replying “It is all atrophy. I will weight lift and get it back.” And I did. It took a long time & a lot of discipline to recover my abdominal wall and pelvic floor and to get strong again. But I did it, with the help of pelvic PT and my clinical background in how to take a woman through a safe and progressive postpartum recovery program.

Now you know a bit about how I got to be the person I am today. I have been through an epic pregnancy and postpartum recovery and found a path forward that is authentically grateful, happy, strong and whole! And we offer this wisdom and understanding to my patients. We know our patient’s pregnancy and postpartum experiences feel like a huge challenge to them. May feel overwhelming. May feel hopeless, like you are stuck with urinary incontinence or a “mommy pooch.” I am proof positive that this is not the case. Get in touch with our knowledgeable and caring staff to see what your plan of care could look like, contact us here.

Working with individuals who are experiencing pregnancy or are postpartum is a calling for us! We love it!

We offer these women an insight, grace, clinical expertise, understanding and joyfulness for their pregnancy. I had to complete intensive postpartum PT recovery. Because of the nature of my labor and delivery and postpartum complications I had serious work to do to recover my pelvic floor, abdominal wall, strength, conditioning and function. I did the hard work. And, I know the commitment it takes to reach your goals. It doesn’t happen overnight and it takes real insight and expertise to provide postpartum pelvic health physical therapy to a woman. It is an honor to work with women who are pregnant and postpartum. Read more about the benefits of pelvic floor PT.

We have advanced training in providing pregnant and postpartum women pelvic floor PT and designing a postpartum recovery fitness program.

And my training dates back to the 1990s! So, I’ve been studying and treating pregnancy and postpartum recovery for more than 2 decades! Many pregnant women come to us experiencing miserable pelvic pain. It might be their SI joint hurts, or their pubic bones are grinding everytime they move their leg, or they cannot roll in bed without back pain. Or it might be that they are experiencing urinary incontinence or pelvic floor muscle spasms or a diastasis recti. We can help all of these conditions! How lucky are we? It is truly an honor to help women during their pregnancy and postpartum periods.

We offer compassionate, patient-focused holistic treatment for people who are suffering from pelvic conditions! Are you interested in addressing your postpartum recovery? Call Today for Information on our Program.

Continue reading →

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

Author | Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health, back pain, neck pain and TMJ disorder specialist physical therapist. Experienced with treating people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & bladder problems or pelvic floor dysfunction.

Can Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Contribute to Bladder Problems or Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

All of our licensed physical therapists here at Purple Mountain PT have experience helping people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and also have pelvic or lower back pain, bladder problems, neck or TMJ pain.

Do you feel like with your Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome you are the only one dealing with bladder problems? You are not alone! EDS can contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder problems.

We know that people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome have been found to have many bladder and pelvic symptoms, including chronic pelvic pain, bladder control problems and pelvic floor dysfunction.

60% report stress urinary incontinence

54% urinary urgency incontinence

24% fecal incontinence

21% pelvic organ prolapse.

71% pelvic pain, especially dysmenorrhea, back pain and muscle and joint pain.

Nearly 50% have sexual dysfunction with 36% reporting painful sex (dyspareunia)

Our licensed physical therapists treat all of the bladder problems, prolapse and sexual-related difficulties noted in this Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome study and many others, actually.

In addition to focused pelvic treatment that may include manual therapy & exercises to the abdomen, pelvis, low back and hips, patients who have EDS benefit from comprehensive, whole-body treatment.

Our pelvic physical therapy program for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome takes into consideration the special accommodations or needs that a person who has EDS may require in a physical therapy program.

71% of people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome reported pelvic pain

Common areas of pain that we treat for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome include chronic low back pain, chronic pelvic pain, SI joint pain, tailbone pain, hip pain, neck and TMJ pain.

Treatment may be directed to your head, TM joint (jaw), neck, rib cage, shoulders, the low back, hips, knees or feet.

For our patients with Ehlers-Danlos who have chronic pelvic pain, we have found benefit from a combined manual therapy approach with stabilization, strengthening and movement-based retraining.

60% of the people who have EDS reported stress urinary incontinence, a leakage of urine problem that benefits from pelvic PT.

When wondering if Ehlers-Danlos can cause bladder problems and pelvic floor dysfunction, 60% stress incontinence and 54% urinary urgency incontinence rates are higher than typical and indicate there can be an EDS component contributing to bladder problems. Fortunately, physical therapy helps this.

Our PTs work one-on-one with you, never leaving you to exercise on your own. We continually are instructing you and coaching you towards improved engagement of the necessary deep core and postural muscles with the pelvic floor to control urine better.

Fortunately, we know that pelvic floor physical therapy can alleviate incontinence, painful sex, prolapse symptoms and overall pain.

54% of the people in the EDS study reported urinary urge incontinence

This 54% rate of urge urinary incontinence for people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is much higher than the general population, where published rates range from approximately 7-12% of people.

Why pelvic physical therapy is a safe, natural treatment for your bladder problems, pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction.

If I have Ehlers-Danlos, why pelvic floor physical therapy can help you, including bladder issues.

We know that Ehlers-Danlos can contribute to you experiencing a number of bladder problems, including leakage or urgency and frequency. When these problems have been ongoing, the pelvic floor muscles persist in their dysfunction. Pelvic PT is here to help.

Our physical therapists help people who have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder problems.

If you tired of leaking urine, chronic pelvic pain, prolapse or urge incontinence and you have EDS, our PTs are here to help you.

Peace,

Additional articles that may be of interest:

References:

Tips to Fix Incontinence Naturally

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health physical therapist specializing in treating adults with urinary incontinence.

What can I do at home to improve urinary incontinence? Some tips for you to help fix your incontinence naturally.

If these tips to fix incontinence naturally overwhelm you, take the guesswork out of your problem and work with one of our PTs. Call 616-516-4334 to get your questions answered.

We hope these tips to fix your incontinence naturally give you a starting point, but working with a pelvic PT truly gives you solutions.

We offer in-person and telehealth visits, for those who qualify. This work is an honor for us and we are devoted to helping you overcome urinary incontinence. Don’t hesitate to reach out to learn more. 616-516-4334

Peace,

Since you are looking for tips and natural treatments for urinary incontinence, you may be interested in these other articles we’ve written:

References for tips to fix incontinence naturally:

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health physical therapist specializing in recovery of bladder control, bowel function and intimacy related concerns after prostatectomy and radiation therapy.

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

Read on to learn more about how to retrain your bladder plus some tips that you can implement at home!

If you are interested in learning more about physical therapy after prostatectomy, whether you would like an in-person visit or telehealth appointment, you can reach out to our staff at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

If you are finding this article because you are going to have or already have had a prostate removal or radiation therapy, we’ve included helpful information here about retraining your bladder, pelvic floor muscle training and other considerations.

Physical therapy helps retrain the bladder after prostate removal.

Our physical therapists will begin your pelvic floor muscle training therapy to retrain your bladder control at your first appointment.

In one recent study examining how to retrain the bladder after prostate removal, intensive pelvic floor physical therapy helped these men control their urine quicker than men who did not have bladder retraining PT.

Why it is recommended to start physical therapy before your prostate removal. Research shows that Prehab helps you do better after surgery!

Doing pelvic floor bladder retraining exercises correctly, without using the wrong muscles, and without straining the bladder, prostate and pelvic region is an important part of your recovery.

Research has found that two prehab visits are beneficial and give you a plan for what to do following your prostatectomy or prostate radiation treatment.

Participants who underwent radical prostatectomy were divided into two groups and pelvic floor muscle training physical therapy began before their surgery for two visits and continued after surgery, for 12 weeks.

Control Group 1: Completed some pelvic floor training exercises. Not as intense or specific as Group 2

Intervention Group 2: Completed more intense and focused pelvic floor training exercises under the guidance of a physical therapist and daily at home. Experienced quicker retraining of bladder control

Group 2, the more intensive and specific pelvic floor muscle training program with a physical therapist got men back to controlling their urine faster!

The men in the intervention group with more intensive physical therapy and pelvic floor muscle training had better urinary incontinence improvement than the men in the control group.

Completing intensive pelvic floor training exercises, under the supervision of a physical therapist and daily at home, helps retraining of bladder control and faster return of urinary continence.

If you are wondering how to retrain bladder control after prostate removal, the research has been clear that you would benefit from pelvic physical therapy that includes specific and intensive pelvic floor training exercises.

Our physical therapists are here to treat your bladder system and retrain bladder control!

Your bladder needs to be able to:

If you would like to receive physical therapy that helps your bladder recover its ability to fill up with urine, hold urine and empty, please call our office to speak with one of our staff. We can be reached at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Physical Therapy care following prostatectomy or radiation treatment will include specific training in how to control your urine, advice and procedures at home to preserve your erectile tissue and treatment to help fecal seepage, if you had radiation and experience this problem

If you are unable to come to physical therapy, we offer a paid phone consultation to give you recommendations on bladder retraining.

Tips you can implement for bladder retraining after prostate removal.

To talk to one of our staff, call our office at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

All of our licensed PTs at Purple Mountain PT have training specific to male pelvic health rehabilitation, prostate cancer recovery and retraining bladder control after prostate removal.

All of the doctors of physical here at Purple Mountain PT have completed extensive post-graduate male-specific pelvic education for how to retrain the bladder after prostate removal and other pelvic floor problems that men experience.

Peace,

If you are curious about pelvic health physical therapy, these articles may be of interest to you:

References:

Is There A Connection Between Diabetes and Incontinence?

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic floor specialist

Is there a connection between diabetes and incontinence?

Type I diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and Prediabetes all have higher rates of incontinence. Diabetic bladder dysfunction (DBD) affects up to 50% of all diabetic patients and is well-known in the medical field.

Numerous papers have confirmed that incontinence rates are elevated in women with type 2 diabetes.

At Purple Mountain PT, we specialize in providing pelvic PT for all bladder function disorders, including diabetic bladder dysfunction, urinary incontinence and painful bladder syndrome

What You Can Do if you have Diabetes and Stress or Urge Urinary Incontinence

**Participants who underwent radical prostatectomy were divided into two groups and pelvic floor muscle training physical therapy began before their surgery for two visits and continued a***fter* surgery, for 12 weeks.