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 If you are reading this most likely you are facing challenges with a weakened pelvic floor and it’s ok – there is help and you are not alone. The first step is acknowledging it, the second step is talking about it and seeking help and the third step is taking control over something that has most likely affected all facets of your life for many years.
Over 1.5 million Canadians, most of them women, are affected by urinary incontinence in its varying forms (outlined below). Most of these women are either too embarrassed to talk about it, unaware of the treatment options available or simply believe it is just a fact of life. Incontinence is not an illness, but rather a dysfunction and over 50% of all women will either eliminate or improve their dysfunction through simple exercises designed to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles.
Stress Incontinence
This is the most common type of incontinence, affecting close to 50% of women with pelvic floor challenges. Varying amounts of urine leak out - depending upon the severity of their condition - when they laugh, cough, sneeze or exercise. Stress incontinence is caused by damaged or weakened pelvic floor muscles often as a result of pregnancy, childbirth or hormonal changes from menopause.
Urge Incontinence
Typically urge incontinence is most commonly seen in older women as result of the involuntary contraction of a muscle in the bladder. The result is an urgent and frequent need to empty the bladder, even when it is not full. This type of incontinence is often due to surgery, nerve damage, or other conditions such as fibroids or tumours.
Overflow Incontinence
Affecting a smaller number of women, overflow incontinence occurs when small amounts of urine leak out frequently over the course of a day, even without laughing or sneezing. This type of incontinence is often due to muscle or nerve problems that prevent the ‘full bladder’ message from reaching the brain.
Mixed Incontinence
As the name implies, mixed incontinence occurs when a women suffers from more than one type of incontinence at the same time. The most common combination is Urge and Stress incontinence, especially in older women.
The muscles of the pelvic floor respond very well to exercise. With a regular program using the EPI-NO Libra, it is possible to reduce or completely overcome the symptoms associated with a weakened pelvic floor at any age. It is easy to use, can be inflated to adjust to different anatomies, and has the added benefit of biofeedback that lets you know you are using the right muscles and when the strength of those muscles is improving!
Take control of your pelvic floor with EPI-NO Libra and take back your life.
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