Many older women with stress-related urinary incontinence can get rid of the problem by learning how to control their pelvic-floor muscle.

Stress-related urinary incontinence is a disorder that causes loss of bladder control during coughing, sneezing or straining. The problem is due to nerve damage in skeletal muscles and ligaments at the bottom of the pelvis, often as a result of stretching during vaginal childbirth. "About 25 percent of women over age 50 suffer from stress-related urinary incontinence," says Dr. Paul M. Fine, medical director of the Incon Therapy Clinic, a new clinic at Baylor College of Medicine that specializes in this type of treatment.

Patients at the clinic are taught how to contract the pelvic-floor muscle with biofeedback techniques. Patches containing sensors are placed on the patient's pelvis, abdomen and thighs. The sensors record electrical activity in the muscles and display on a TV monitor the muscles being contracted and the strength of contractions. The therapist uses this biofeedback to teach the patient how to contract the pelvic-floor muscle.

According to recent estimates by the U.S. government, about $18 billion is spent annually on urinary incontinence, mostly on protective undergarments rather than diagnosis and treatment.

- From Baylor College of Medicine

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Courtesy of Texas Medical Center News

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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URL: http://www.tmc.edu/health_briefs/01_15_98-incontinence.html