Share:
Bladder weakness - causes and symptoms
The nerves pass on the urine to the brain via the nerves. The bladder has to provide enough volume, and the sphincter muscles have to work. When the bladder empties, the bladder contracts and the sphincters relax. Those who suffer from bladder weakness no longer control these processes.
contents
- charges
- Excessive urination
- Bladder weakness in women
- Diagnosis and treatment
- Pelvic floor exercises
- Behavior in everyday life
In women, incontinence may also be due to a weakness of the pelvic floor muscles. This is especially after a pregnancy. The muscles can no longer catch the bladder pressure, and the urine is running.
Urinary incontinence due to weakened pelvic floor muscles is more common in women after pregnancy. (Image: SENTELLO / fotolia.com) charges
When we work hard, lift or tow, do excessive exercise or climb mountains, urine from the bladder often blows into the air. Unlike bladder weakness, these are just a few drops, and we can stop the urine flow at will.
Excessive urination
In case of excessive urinary urgency, we constantly need to go to the toilet because the bladder presses and immediately releases the urine. The bladder empties even without us wanting it and in all postures. The muscles work too hard at this urge to urinate: it contracts and suggests the brain so a filled bladder. As soon as some fluid gets into the bladder, the urinary urgency occurs. Many serious diseases can be the cause: bladder infections, bladder stones or an enlarged prostate.
Bladder weakness in women
Women often hide the fact that they have bladder weakness because they feel embarrassed about it. Although incontinence tends to affect the elderly, at least one in every twenty women under the age of 65 suffers, especially young mothers whose pelvis is weakened by birth and who are additionally burdened by carrying the baby.
By contrast, old women develop bladder weakness because their hormonal balance changes. It also affects overweight women and women with weak connective tissue. A reduction of the vagina can also lead to bladder weakness. This bladder weakness begins inconspicuously. The woman loses only a drop of urine in the beginning, then there are two, and at some point her entire everyday life suffers. In addition, weakened pelvic floor muscles of the spine, the neck and the spine, the sufferer suffers from digestive problems and abdominal pain.
Diagnosis and treatment
The "positive" of a bladder weakness is that sufferers know what's going on. Whether it is a weakness of the pelvic floor muscles, a doctor finds out easily. It is more difficult with the treatment. Gynecologists, urologists and proctologists are the best contacts here.
Patients keep a micturition diary in which they record how much they drink, how quickly they need to go to the toilet, and whether they can control the urge to urinate. The doctor scans the pelvic floor muscles, examines the urine, reflects the bladder and uses ultrasound.
Pelvic floor exercises
Meanwhile, some physiotherapists specialize in the pelvic floor, and since it is a muscle weakness, training helps to strengthen the muscles and so the bladder.
The affected sit down on a chair and tense the pelvic floor muscles. They hold this tension for ten seconds while breathing in and out deeply. The exercise is repeated five times.
Sport also helps against the bladder weakness, but sports should be omitted, which additionally burden the bladder. These are, for example, all forms of weight training in which the lower abdomen is pulled together, or tennis, where the leg position and the striking movements press on the bladder.
Well suited, however, are all endurance sports, especially swimming or hiking. Yoga exercises are excellent for strengthening the bladder, in some cases they specifically build up the pelvic floor.
In many cases, yoga can significantly alleviate bladder weakness or even completely eliminate it. (Image: best_age_model / fotolia.com) Obese people who suffer from bladder weakness, the easiest way to help by losing weight. They do not have to completely and permanently change their entire diet: losing 5% of the weight helps most sufferers already.
Behavior in everyday life
Simple behaviors that integrate sufferers into everyday life can counteract bladder weakness and generally improve well-being. Diarrhea drinks should be avoided, these are especially alcohol, coffee and tea. Instead, water and fresh juices are appropriate.
The diet is advantageously made from fruits, vegetables and fiber - not from finished products. What does food have to do with the bubble? If you so "spoil" the intestine, this relieves the bowel movement, and they must press less. This reduces the pressure on the bladder.
Those affected can get used to standing up and sitting. That supports the pelvic floor muscles.
If stress promotes bladder weakness, yoga exercises, walks in nature or in between help to pause for a moment.
If sufferers have difficulty lifting, the techniques that nurses learn are recommended: spread your legs apart, squat down, and keep your back straight. Then they lift with the power of the legs - not with the pelvis.
They can also train the bladder if they do not run to the toilet every time the urge to urinate. If they sit upright, the bladder can empty completely.
Bladder weakness also arises from infections of the urinary tract. They can be easily prevented. Do not sit on cold surfaces as this promotes infection. Among the medicinal herbs bearberry and watercress relieve the infection. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)