While every woman experiences a little leak now and then, urinary incontinence affects the wellbeing of 20% of women, and can be a real struggle on a daily basis. As well as being unable to control your bladder function, urinary incontinence can take its toll on your sexual wellness, either because you’re too embarrassed or afraid of your condition to embark on sex, or else because incontinence causes pain and discomfort during lovemaking. However, new research has come to light which suggests complementary wellness therapies may be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Researchers from the Department of Urology at the University of Modena in Italy have evaluated three women, who ranged in age from 35 to 44 and had urinary incontinence and complained of sexual dysfunction. The results of this research suggests that you may be able to find relief from these two conditions without the need for surgery or drugs, as the three patients all experienced significant improvement in both incontinence and sexual dysfunction symptoms when treated with a combination of rehabilitative therapies. The even better news is that many of the therapies used for the study can be done on your own at home.
For the study, the researchers focused on strengthening the pelvic floor muscles to help participants fight urinary infections and sexual incontinence. This involved electrical stimulation (in which light electrical charges were given to the pelvic floor muscles), biofeedback (in which stimulation in the pelvic floor muscles was monitored so that the doctors were able to tell if a patient was activating and strengthening the appropriate muscles), pelvic floor exercises (such as Kegels), and the use of vaginal cones (in which you contract your pelvic floor muscles to hold plastic cones in the vagina). After three months of this combined rehabilitation programme, none of the participants needed to use a pad for their incontinence, nor did any of the patients note any leakage during sexual activity. Sexual function scores also improved significantly, showing that both conditions improved.
So, what does this mean for you? This study is absolutely miniscule, but that’s not to say that other patients in the past have not responded better to a combination of therapies. Plus, rehabilitation is minimally invasive and doesn’t come with the side effects that you might otherwise experience with surgery or drugs, so it’s a good first point of call. Debra Fromer, MD, chief of the Centre for Bladder, Prostate and Pelvic Floor Health at the Hackensack University Medical Centre in New Jersey, comments, ‘No major conclusions can be made based on this study, since there were only three patients involved, but in general, incontinence is best treated with a multimodal approach.’ So, how can you adopt the best parts of this study from the comfort of your own home?
1. Identify the muscles: The next time you use the toilet, try stopping the flow of urine. If successful, this means you’ve located the basic muscle group you want to be working. However, once you’ve identified these muscles, you shouldn’t make a habit of doing pelvic floor exercises with a full bladder, as this can actually weaken the muscles and lead to further problems.
2. Get Kegelling: Sit or lie down and contract your pelvic floor muscles for three seconds, then relax for a count of three. Repeat 10 times. Once you’ve mastered this, add another second to your hold and rest time, and keep mastering and adding a second until you can do kegels for 10-second intervals. The great thing about Kegels is that you can do them without anyone knowing, so they can be practiced just about anywhere and anytime.