Urinary Dysfunction and/or Pain
Symptoms of urinary dysfunction are:
- Urinary hesitancy: difficulty initiating urinary stream (“shy bladder”)
- Urinary frequency: voiding more often than every 3-4 hours
- Urinary urgency: strong feelings of having to void when the bladder is not full. Voiding may not alleviate the sense of urge and only small volumes of urine are produced
- Nocturia: waking to void at night
- Dysuria (pain and burning with voiding)
- Stress Incontinence: leakage of urine with laughing, coughing, sneezing, etc
- Urge Incontinence: leakage of urine during sensations of urge to void
How Physical Therapy can help:
The bladder and urethra lie very close to the pelvic floor muscles. When these muscles become tight they can create the above-mentioned urinary symptoms.
Urinary dysfunction can be caused by tight muscles in the urogenital diaphragm, myofascial trigger points (taut, painful band in muscles or fascia) in the adductors (inner thigh muscles), abdominal muscles, or the pelvic floor muscles, connective tissue restrictions in the abdomen or lower extremities, or sacro-iliac joint dysfunction.
Your physical therapist will normalize the tight muscles and tissue with manual therapy techniques. A home exercise program will be prescribed to you to facilitate recovery and maintain the gains made. Resolution of the musculoskeletal dysfunction will result in the elimination of your symptoms.
Disclaimer: The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center seeks to educate the community on musculoskeletal causes of pelvic pain. Specific medical advice and/or answers to your personal health questions will require a full examination by one of our physical therapists. This website is not intended to be a substitute for a medical evaluation, but rather as an educational resource.