How to Help Bladder Leaks

If You Are Looking For Help With Bladder Leaks, We Have Tips!

There’s nothing more frustrating than enjoying yourself and trying to get things accomplished during your day and then having to deal with uncomfortable bladder leakage.  If you are wondering how to help your bladder leakage, our PTs specialize in helping women, men and kids who experience bladder control issues and pelvic floor dysfunction. We have treated all types of bladder leakage and helped people young and old overcome this frustrating problem.  Here we will detail some tips and education regarding bladder leakage and how you can help yourself.

If you would like to work with a skilled, specialist physical therapist who can help your bladder leakage and will identify exactly what is going on in your system to contribute to urinary incontinence, call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgable staff member or contact us here to submit an online inquiry, to ask us a question or to learn more.

Why do I Have Bladder Leaks?

Upto 70% of Women Experience Bladder Leaks!

Bladder leakage happens to people of all ages and genders.  Often our patients are surprised to hear that urinary incontinence in women, across the lifespan ranges from 5-70% of people, with more than 40% of women over 70 years old experiencing bladder leaks.  Most studies of women having urinary incontinence report incidence rates of 25-40%.  Unfortunately, incontinence is a risk factor for a senior woman moving into a nursing home.  Therefore, if you are experiencing bladder leaks at a younger age, please be proactive and get this treated before the problem advances with age.   Given the statistics, it is likely that several of your friends or family members also struggle with bladder leaks and are looking for how to help their bladder leaks.  If you would like to work with a skilled, specialist physical therapist who helps all adults struggling with bladder leaks, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

There are many risk factors for experiencing bladder leaks.   Most are modifiable and treatable with physical therapy.

The risk factors for urinary incontinence vary across the lifespan.   In general, it is well-known that women experience a higher risk factor for bladder leakage due to our anatomy combined with life events such as pregnancy that cause more stress and strain on our bladder control system.  Additionally, research has found that adolescent girls who participate in sports with running, jumping or cutting moves, such as gymnastics, dance, soccer and volleyball, also often experience urinary leakage.  Our PTs can help this!  Bladder leakage is not inevitable in women.  In fact, all bladder leakage is considered a medical issue and should be properly treated as soon as you notice this happening.

Because bladder leakage tends to increase across a woman’s lifespan, it is important to be proactive, at all ages, to optimize your bladder control because to avoid bladder leaks becoming worse over time.

Often our patients have tried everything on their own that they can think of to help their bladder leakage, yet they still struggle with frustrating leakage. Working with our properly trained and specialist physical therapists takes the guesswork out of how to help your bladder leakage.  We customize your treatments to exactly what we find with your body.  Our comprehensive approach is designed to give you lasting relief and results so you can be active, healthy and can resolve your bladder leakage. If you may be interested in learning more about how our PTs help bladder leakage, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here to ask us a question and we will be in touch with you.

Is all bladder leakage the same or are there different types?

There are actually several types of urinary incontinence.  In women, Stress Urinary Incontinence is the most prevalent type of bladder leakage.

Stress incontinence occurs when you leak urine unexpectedly while talking, laughing, sneezing, coughing, jumping or doing other activities that increase the pressure inside your abdomen.

With stress incontinence, your bladder control system is literally overwhelmed and unable to keep your urine inside your body when you are completing movements or activities that place pressure on the pelvic floor, urethra and bladder.

Common culprits of stress incontinence include laughing, coughing and sneezing.  But, we also treat people who experience stress incontinence with lesser known activities, such as walking downhill or singing.   Our PTs thoroughly evaluate every person we help who has bladder leaks.   By completing this comprehensive assessment, that might look at your ribcage, spine, posture, breathing, pelvic floor, hips, abdominals, movement patterns and deep core, we are able to custom design a pelvic floor and bladder control rehabilitation program that helps your bladder leaks.

If you would like to learn more about how to work with our PTs so you can experience relief from your stress incontinence, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Urge urinary incontinence is another type of bladder leakage that our PTs help

Urge incontinence is a type of bladder leakage when your bladder spasms so much that you lose urine because you cannot get to the bathroom quickly enough.  With urge incontinence that are so many things that can be done in physical therapy and at home to help your bladder leaks.   In many cases our licensed physical therapists find a constellation of problems that we can treat that are contributing to the bladder spasms, urgency and bladder leakage.   For example, if a person has unhappy nerves going to the bladder or pelvic floor muscles, bladder leakage can occur.  Our PTs check every person for this type of issue and will give our patients hands-on treatments as well as rehabilitative exercises and sometimes modalities, like a stimulation machine, to help calm the nerves, support the bladder, restore bladder control, enhance pelvic floor and core muscle strength and address other underlying contributors to your overactive bladder (such as constipation, for example).  For more information about our physical therapy for overactive bladder, urge incontinence or bladder leaks, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Have you heard of insensible incontinence?  We help bladder leaks that occur out of the blue and you don’t even know they are happening.

Insensible incontinence occurs when a person finds themselves wet in their underwear but they didn’t know this was happening.  It is thought that insensible incontinence may be a combination of both urge incontinence and stress incontinence. But, sometimes insensible incontinence may also be overflow incontinence or incontinence related to incomplete emptying of bladder, constipation or other treatable issues.   Working with a specialist physical therapist, like we have here at Purple Mountain PT, you will receive a customized treatment program that helps your bladder leakage.  For more information, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Our comprehensive approach to helping your bladder leakage includes a thorough assessment and treatment of what is going on with your bladder and provides specialized physical therapy help for bladder leakage, even when it is insensible.

To figure out what is going on with bladder leakage, sometimes a physician may order a urodynamic study to try to learn more about your bladder muscle’s function and your bladder leakage.  However, with insensible incontinence the urodynamic studies often do not render meaningful information.  Don’t worry if this is your experience, our PTs take a different approach. Because we specialize in muskuloskeletal rehabilitation and helping bladder leaks, we know how to optimize your muscles, nerves, posture, habits and bladder control methods. If you are frustrated by finding your underwear are damp with urine and you didn’t even know it was happening, you have found the place to help you. To learn more call us at (616)516-4334 to speak with a knowledgable team member or ask us a question by contacting us here.

With true Mixed Incontinence, a person is experiencing bladder leakage that is a combination of both stress incontinence and urge incontinence.

It is not uncommon for someone to experience a combination of both stress incontinence and urge incontinence.  When you have two reasons for your incontinence, it is called mixed incontinence.  In this case, your physical therapy program will include treatments to address all causes of your bladder leakage.  Because our PTs take a comprehensive, whole person approach, our patients tell us that working with us has been the most beneficial thing they have experienced.   Mixed incontinence is very common amongst our patients and also very treatable.

We love to partner with you to help you resolve bladder leaks.  If you have questions about our physical therapy for bladder leaks, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here. 

Could you be leaking urine because your bladder is too full?

Yes, overflow incontinence is a type of leakage that happens when your bladder is so full that is is over stretched and unable to function well. The bladder is a muscle and this muscle should be able to relax to hold your urine and contract to allow you to urinate. With overflow incontinence there are problems with your bladder and often your whole bladder control system. In physical therapy we help you retrain your bladder, pelvic floor and other aspects of your body so you can help your overflow leaks.  To learn more, contact us here.

Instrinsic sphincter deficiency is another cause of bladder leakage that our PT can help

Your urethra provides a passageway for urine to exit your body.  The urethra sphincter has muscles and sometimes these muscles are deficient, causing bladder leakage.  With weakness of the urethra muscles, a physician may label you as having intrinsic sphincter deficiency.  Our PTs typically identify numerous additional issues going on, such as pelvic floor dysfunction, that are also causing bladder leaks.  Each person we help who has bladder leaks receives a customized physical therapy rehabilitation program that includes hands-on manual therapies, corrective exercises, pelvic floor retraining, bladder and sphincter control methods, education and instruction in implementing better bladder habits and postural and spine therapy.  When we combine these things for your bladder leaks, you will find that you finally experience some relief.

Don’t get frustrated, get proactive! There is help.  To learn more about working with our specialist bladder physical therapists, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

What does Physical Therapy do to Help Bladder Incontinence

Because our PTs specialize in helping bladder leakage in adults and children, we are able to customize our treatment approach to each person’s specific findings.  If you are asking yourself why you are leaking urine, our PTs will help bring some clarity to your situation and can provide you a specific rehabilitation program to help your bladder leaks.

Regardless of what type of urinary incontinence you have, usually there is an underlying pelvic floor dysfuction going on.

The pelvic floor muscles form a hammock at the base of your pelvis, supporting your urethra and bladder and helping to maintain bladder control.  We find that the pelvic floor muscles can be weak, stiff, slow to react, unable to lengthen, unable to tighten, working paradoxically (instead of lifting and holding in urine, they actually lower and allow urine to leak).   Our detailed assessment of each person’s pelvic floor muscles gives you insight into your body and how you can help your bladder leakage.  Often times the pelvic floor muscles may be strong, but lack proper coordination.  Retraining these muscles is our specialty.  To learn more about how to retrain your pelvic floor muscles, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

To truly help your bladder leakage, in PT we need to treat your entire system!

Our PTs will work with you to improve your posture, because things like slouching can alter the angle of your pelvis, rendering it more easy to lose urine.  We will also assess and treat your ribcage because how your breathe and the alignment between your ribcage and your pelvis both influence bladder control. We will assess and treat and retrain your deep core abdominal muscles.  Often we find that our patients have too much activity in their abdominal obliques and deficiency in their deep lower abdominals.  This is unfortunate, because this muscle imbalance places more strain on your bladder control system and also alters the pelvic floor muscle activity.  Additionally, our PTs will assess and treat your low back, because the low back and pelvic floor are partners together and when one is off, the other is problematic.  Our patients are also assessed for any constipation or bowel problems, because the bladder and bowels are communicating with each other and a problem with bowels can worsen bladder control.  These are a snippet of what we offer our patients.  We haven’t even touched on the hands-on treatments we provide that help optimize bladder function, fascia, muscles and nerves.  By working with our PTs you are assured that you will receive a comprehensive approach to optimize your bladder control and help cease all bladder leaks.  To learn more about our physical therapy evaluation for bladder leaks, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

We also take into consideration your life events that may have contributed to your bladder leaks.

Have you had a pregnancy or childbirth?  Our pregnancy and postpartum physical therapy program will address the unique needs of moms and moms-to-be

Pregnancy can increase your risk of pelvic floor dysfunction becuase your muscles experience more pressure, weight and changes to the position of your pelvis.  Therefore, the pregnancy itself (not only the labor and delivery) is a risk factor for urinary incontinence.  The pelvic floor muscles are made to be able to birth a baby vaginally, but this process does stretch them over 300%!  Add in the fact that pregnancy alters your abdominal wall, posture, rib cage, breathing and hormones and you have a perfect storm for creating bladder leaks in some pregnant women.   When postpartum all of these muscles, joints and nerves need to come back together to support your bladder effectively.  Working with our PTs, in our pregnancy and postpartum recovery program, gives you the confidence you need to feel strong and to resolve any bladder leakage.  If you are pregnant or postpartum and are experiencing bladder leakage, back pain, diastasis recti abdominis, pain or other concerns, working with our specialist physical therapists will provide your relief from your symptoms.  To learn more, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Some tips to help your bladder leakage!

  • Solving bladder leakage on your own often is not effective, which is why most of our patients deal with leakage for years.  Our best tip is to work with a professional physical therapist who specializes in bladder leakage.

This is because figuring out, by yourself, what is going on does not work and what you try at home may actually exacerbate the leakage.  Most of our patients already tried a numerous things to help their leakage that did not work.  It is common that women have implemented self-help efforts like changing drinking habits, kegels, avoiding jumping and wearing pads, but the urinary leakage persists.  Some of the things they have tried have worsened their bladder leakage (I’m talking to your 1000 Kegels a day!).  We suggest that you take the guesswork out of your urinary leakage and reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 to chat or ask us a question here and we will be in touch.

  • Track the triggers of your bladder leakage

Each person is different, as to what caused leakage.  Sometimes it is certain activities, other times it is situations (like being scared) or alcohol or constipation.  We suggest you pay attention to your bladder leakage circumstances and identify some causes.  Once you know the causes, can you modify some of these?   Our PTs help you determine your causes and develop an action plan for how you can reduce your risk for bladder leakage, while you build up your bladder control muscles.  If you are interested in learning more, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here. 

  • Modify the things that contribute to your bladder leakage

Sometimes bladder leakage occurs when running downhill, so can you alter your ribcage and strides to reduce the ground impact forces?   For women who run, sometimes changing your cadence helps reduce bladder leakage.   Sometimes bladder leakage is worsened if you are constipated. Can you work on your diet and defecation habits to optimize them?  The point is that you need to know what is triggering your leakage and make modifications to these things to see if they help!  Our PTs are specialists at rehabilitating bladder leakage, so if you can’t figure it out how to help yourself, let us help you!  Call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with a knowledgable team member or contact us here and we will be in touch.

  •  How is your fluid intake and does this influence your leakage?

Some people are simply drinking too much water.   Or, sometimes they are pounding a huge glass of water and this simply is too much volume at one time, even though the total amount of water in your daily intake may be fine.  Other people are not drinking enough water, which can lead to altered bladder storage or irritation of the lining of your bladder.   Try to pay attention to what you drink, how quickly you drink it, what volume it is and how your bladder reacts.  Make changes according to what you notice!

  • Track your bladder leakage

Learn when it happens, what was going on before and after it happened, pay attention to the circumstances.  Were you stressed out?  The bladder is reactive to stress, perhaps you need to improve this.  Were you having constipation? The bladder is reactive to the bowel, maybe you need to improve your bowels to help your bladder leakage. By tracking your bladder leakage, you will gain clarity on when this happens and may identify things within your control that you can improve.

  • Improve the strength of your hips and core!

Research has found that the glutes tend to be weaker in people who have problems with bladder control. This includes urinary urgency and frequency issues.  Also, your pelvic floor muscles work as a system, in coordination with your abdominals, low back and hips. Therefore, if you are struggling with bladder leaks, we suggest you start strengthening these muscles and, while you are at it, work on your flexiblity.  Our PTs check every patient for muscle imbalances and weaknessess. We look at your movement patterns, hip mobility and posture.  We also asses your pelvic floor muscles and abdominal wall.  We put all of this information together and develop a customized treatment program for your body.  We are specialist bladder and pelvic health PTs who use hands-on treatments, therapeutic exercises, modalities, patient education, postural correction and other interventions to help you control your bladder. If this sounds appealing to you, but you have questions, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.  

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy is a specialty pelvic health clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Our PTs all have specialized training in pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder control, bowel dysfunction, sexual pain, chronic pelvic pain, low back pain and hip problems.  We also specialize in TMJ disorders and neck conditions.  By focusing our attention on these areas and combining years of experience, we are provide treatments that are difficult to find, are comprehensive and designed to help you resolve bladder leaks. If you are frustrated by ongoing bladder control problems, call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgable team members. We love this work and are devoted to helping you be active and feel great again!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

References:

Chong ECKhan AAAnger JTThe financial burden of stress urinary incontinence among women in the United StatesCurr Urol Rep201112(5): 358362.

Gonzales, Alicia L., et al. “Prevalence and treatment of postpartum stress urinary incontinence: a systematic review.” Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery 27.1 (2021): e139-e145.

Hagan KAErekson EAustin A, et al. Incontinence in womenAm J Obstet Gynecol2018218(5): 502.e1502.e8.

Haylen BTDe Ridder DFreeman RM, et al. An International Urogynecological Association/International Continence Society Joint Report on the terminology for female pelvic floor dysfunctionNeurourol Urodyn201029420.

Markland ADRichter HEFwu C-WEggers PKusek JWPrevalence and trends of urinary incontinence in adults in the United States, 2001 to 2008J Urol2011186(2): 589593.

McKinney, Jessica L., et al. “Retrospective claims analysis of physical therapy utilization among women with stress or mixed urinary incontinence.” Neurourology and Urodynamics 41.4 (2022): 918-925.

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

Scott, K.M., Gosai, E., Bradley, M.H. et al. Individualized pelvic physical therapy for the treatment of post-prostatectomy stress urinary incontinence and pelvic pain. Int Urol Nephrol 52, 655–659 (2020)

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You may be interested in these other articles:

How Can I Help My TMJ Pain?

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

Pediatric Bladder & Bowel Problems

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

Does Physical Therapy Help Constipation?

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Information about pelvic floor PT as it relates to pregnancy 

 

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 urology182(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.
  • Ehlers-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.

Other articles we’ve written that may be of interest:

Tips to Fix Incontinence Naturally

Why Can’t I Push Out My Pee?

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

Interstitial Cystitis Treatment in Grand Rapids!

Oh no, I am having stress incontinence! What natural treatments can I do?

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

Is There A Connection Between Diabetes and Incontinence?

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

References:

Boyle R, Hay-Smith EJ, Cody JD, Mørkved S. Pelvic floor muscle training for prevention and treatment of urinary and fecal incontinence in antenatal and postnatal women: a short version Cochrane review. Neurourol Urodyn. 2014 Mar;33(3):269-76. doi: 10.1002/nau.22402. Epub 2013 Apr 24. PMID: 23616292.

Dumoulin C, Hay-Smith J, Habée-Séguin G, Mercier J. Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women: A short version Cochrane systematic review with meta-analysis. Neurourology And Urodynamics. 2015;34(4):300–308.

Foster, Stefanie N. PT, PhD1; Spitznagle, Theresa M. PT, DPT1,2; Tuttle, Lori J. PT, MPT, PhD3; Sutcliffe, Siobhan PhD, ScM, MHS2,4; Steger-May, Karen MS5; Lowder, Jerry L. MD, MSc2,6; Meister, Melanie R. MD, MSCI2,6; Ghetti, Chiara MD2,6; Wang, Jinli MS5; Mueller, Michael J. PT, PhD1,7; Harris-Hayes, Marcie DPT, MSCI1,8 Hip and Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength in Women With and Without Urgency and Frequency-Predominant Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy: July/September 2021 – Volume 45 – Issue 3 – p 126-134 doi: 10.1097/JWH.0000000000000209

Herderschee R, Hay-Smith EJ, Herbison GP, et al. Feedback or biofeedback to augment pelvic floor muscle training for urinary incontinence in women. Neurourol Urodyn. 2013;32(4):325–329.

Maxwell, C., Soo, A., Hogan, D., Wodchis, W., Gilbart, E., Amuah, J., . . . Strain, L. (2013). Predictors of Nursing Home Placement from Assisted Living Settings in Canada. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement, 32(4), 333-348. doi:10.1017/S0714980813000469

Neville CE, Beneciuk J, Bishop M, Alappattu M. Analysis of Physical Therapy Intervention Outcomes for Urinary Incontinence in Women Older Than 65 Years in Outpatient Clinical Settings. Top Geriatr Rehabil. 2016 Oct-Dec;32(4):251-257. doi: 10.1097/TGR.0000000000000119. PMID: 28484306; PMCID: PMC5418583.

Qaseem A, Dallas P, Forciea M, Starkey M, et al. Nonsurgical management of urinary incontinence in women: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals Of Internal Medicine. 2014;161(6):429–440.

Sampselle CM, Harlow SD, Skurnick J, Brubaker L, Bondarenko I. Urinary incontinence predictors and life impact in ethnically diverse perimenopausal women. Obstet Gynecol. 2002;100:1230–1238.

Wein AJ. Re: Pelvic Floor Muscle Training versus no Treatment, or Inactive Control Treatments, for Urinary Incontinence in Women: A Short Version Cochrane Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. J Urol. 2019 Jun;201(6):1060. doi: 10.1097/01.JU.0000554736.43840.11. PMID: 30883251.

 

Postpartum Pelvic Floor PT in Grand Rapids

Postpartum Pelvic Floor PT in Grand Rapids

What does Postpartum Pelvic Floor PT Treat?

If you are postpartum and wondering what postpartum pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids would do for you, read on! We thought it might help you to hear of one woman’s recovery story with us. If, after reading this, you feel postpartum pelvic floor PT could help you, contact us!

Here’s a story of one woman we helped. Her problems: pelvic and perineal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction with bladder and bowel control problems, postpartum recovery following severe pelvic trauma with labor and delivery and pelvic reconstructive surgery.

Like all new moms, this woman was impressive! She worked full time, was in love with her baby, struggled with sleep deprivation and wanted to get back to being athletic. When we met, she was 6 months postpartum with problems of bladder/bowel control and pelvic instability, pelvic pain, pelvic floor weakness and diastasis recti abdominus (split abdominals). She experienced inner thigh and pubic pain with walking, exercising, moving in and out of positions when picking up her baby and when driving and moving her foot from gas to the brake. This pain was her dominant concern, but she also wasn’t happy to have embarrassing and unexpected loss of gas, problems with bladder control, a weak abdomen and a diastasis recti abdominus (split abdominals) as well as knee pains. Before I met her, when her baby was 4 months old, she had pelvic surgery to correct a serious injury from her labor and delivery. She had been referred to me by her urogynecologist surgeon, but had tried two other pelvic floor PTs prior to her surgery and before finding me. Neither of the prior pelvic health PTs could help her pain and she had been told that she needed to get in shape, but she found herself unable to exercise because of pain.

Her Goals:

  1. Get pregnant again and be healthier before the pregnancy, down the line.
  2. Get the adductor (inner thigh & pubic bone) pain to go away. “It prevents me from doing every other exercise.”
  3. Regain the strength of the pelvic floor and muscle control.

We got to work right away with a comprehensive postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation. This included a detailed assessment of her:

  • Load transfer ability: This was impaired, she could not shift weight from one leg to another and keep her pelvis and low back in stable.
  • Strength: Poor all around, she was deconditioned, had weakness in her glutes, pelvic floor and abdominals and low back.
  • Abdominal wall integrity: Disrupted by a diastasis recti abdominus that caused ineffective and abnormal load transfer through her legs, pelvis and core)
  • Pelvic floor integrity & coordination: Integrity of the multiple layers of the pelvic floor was intact, but coordination was impaired and deficient, poor timing and firing of the muscles noted).  This includes looking at pelvic floor strength and pelvic floor dysfunction.
  • Postoperative healing: She was doing well, but the vaginal tissues were fragile and needed to be treated delicately and carefully.

Her Plan of Care Included Hands-On Treatments and Graded, Specific and Careful Exercises to Promote Stability, Strength and Coordination

We worked together at each visit, with a very careful and coordinated plan to progressively help facilitate her recovery.  This person’s treatment included a combination of therapeutic corrective exercises and hands-on manual therapy to her abdomen, low back hips and thighs and internally to her pelvic floor. Together we worked to optimize her muscles and her fascia, to improve her pelvic stability, to advance her strength and conditioning and to restore her pelvic floor, breath and core muscle coordination, timing and strength. If you might benefit from postpartum pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids, we can offer the same specialized and personalized care for you! Contact us here to ask us a question or call 616.516.4334 to speak with our knowledgeable and caring staff to get started!

At Her 5th postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy appointment, she was feeling better! Less pain! Less Worry! Hope and optimism were born!

She arrived with a smile and noticeably less stressed. She reported this was because she was feeling better and seeing that we were making progress. Her postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy program was different than the other two physical therapists had recommended and it was detailed, systematic and progressive. She was feeling improvements and this gave her confidence that she was getting the help she needed.

By this fifth appointment she reported improvement in her pain:

“every now and again I get twinges of pain in my inner thighs or my abs, but it goes away. It doesn’t happen often. My walking is pretty good. Standing on one leg still hurts a little; I have to sit down to put on shoes and pants. It is unstable and some pain in the proximal adductor.”

Difficulty with standing on one leg is something that women with pelvic instability can experience.

We perform a comprehensive evaluation to determine what are the driving factors with balance, pelvic stability, muscular control and motor coordination. Then, once we know what is causing this pain and problem, we devise a program to systematically address all of the contributions to it. In her case, we provided a postpartum pelvic physical therapy program customized to her post-operative precautions and designed to optimize both her post-operative and her postpartum healing. The results of pelvic floor physical therapy are born from the wisdom and experience of a good pelvic health physical therapist to design an effective and comprehensive treatment program. Contact us today to learn more.

Not all pelvic health physical therapy is the same!

For this woman we were challenged to develop a pelvic health recovery program that gave a “Goldilocks” effect. You remember the childhood 3 Little Pigs tale, with Goldilocks finding the “just right” bed and porridge? We needed to evaluate and treat her with the “just right” methods of physical therapy. Enough to stimulate pelvic recovery, coordination and strength while also reducing pain and instability. Too fast, too aggressive or the wrong exercises and treatments and she was at risk for a huge flare up and possibly adverse healing. Too little or the wrong exercises and treatments and she was at risk for physical therapy not helping her, having no response and thinking “this doesn’t work and I’m never going to get better.” If you might benefit from postpartum pelvic PT in Grand Rapids, we are here to help you. Contact us today to learn more about our model of care.

We’ve Seen This Before & We Can Help You!

Because the physical therapists at Purple Mountain PT specialize in pelvic health, pregnancy and postpartum recovery and pelvic floor dysfunction, we offer our patients an experienced eye assessing and treating your condition.  We had seen this condition many times over the years.

By working with so many other postpartum women and having advanced training in pregnancy and post-partum pelvic floor physical therapy, our PTs know how to help our patients, even when they have tried other therapies or have complex problems.

This patient benefitted from the specialization our PTs have undertaken.  All of our PTs have their doctor of physical therapy degree & also post-doctoral training specific to pregnancy and postpartum recovery, including in rehabilitation for complicated postpartum conditions, such as chronic pain and traumatic birth injuries.  The pregnancy and postpartum physical therapists at Purple Mountain PT are also avid readers of clinical research and participants in professional education and societies.

We provide our postpartum patients comprehensive and wholistic care, which is what will help them feel better.

By treating the entire person, including the midback, low back, hips, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, balance, posture, strength, flexibility and more, our patients are able to feel better.  In this woman’s case she had a diastasis recti abdominus, which is split abdominal muscles. In the last ten years there has been a lot of research, debate and clarifications on how to best treat this condition. Having kept up with all of this, our PTs are able to provide you current and effective methods to resolve diastasis recti abdominus.  We love to work with women throughout their pregnancy and postpartum journey and find this work to be joyful and rewarding, because we see you get back to being confident in your body!  If you are interested in learning more about our postpartum physical therapy here in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via telehealth for those who qualify, you can speak with one of our team members by reaching out here or calling 616-516-4334. 

At 6 Months After Starting Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy She Was Roller Blading!

To help someone recovering after pregnancy and surgery requires a systematic and progress approach, customized to the person’s needs.

At 6 months after starting physical therapy, this patient returned with happiness reporting

“I’m feeling ok! I feel fine doing my core exercises (this is an improvement!). I went roller blading and felt good. I feel some soreness in my inguinal region, not like it was before, it is mildly sore, same as my abs. My knees and back have felt better. I’m doing all of the exercises you gave me and some extra squats throughout the day and my knees are fine.”

You can see this is a huge advancement in her activity tolerance. Rollerblading? That was absolutely out of the question when I first saw her, she would have had pelvic pain, possibly knee and low back pain also, possibly loss of gas or urine.

And, here she was able to roller blade without anything more than some soreness that was normal post-workout soreness! Her success with roller blading was a huge win and a reflection that all of our pelvic floor physical therapy had correctly addressed her myriad problem. If you would love to get back to doing something you enjoy, contact us to speak with our knowledgeable staff, get your questions answered and make an appointment today!

If you are interested in finding out more about postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here and we will be in touch!

This story gives you a glimpse into one woman’s experience of postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy. This woman had an unfortunate and complicated case and was able to get back to an active life and achieve her goals. Many women we help are fortunate to have fewer problems. But, most postpartum women do experience some challenges to their recovery. Even when they are feeling fine they don’t know exactly which exercises they should be doing. Or, they may experience some urinary leakage from time to time and don’t know how to get that to go away. If you wonder if postpartum pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids could help you and have some questions, we are happy to chat to see if our care is a good fit for you.  If you are interested to learn more about working with our pregnancy and postpartum specialist physical therapists, call 616-516-4334 to chat with one of our knowledgable team members who can answer your questions.

Blessings,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

You may also be interested in these articles we’ve written related to pelvic health conditions

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Why Does My C-Section Scar Hurt Years Later?