Ottawa Holistic Health Centre
Multidisciplinary Health Care Practitioners
- Pre and Post Natal
Mother and Infant Care
- Adult and Pediatric Osteopathy
-Adult Osteopathy
-Athletic Osteopathy
-Visceral & Structural Osteopathy
Osteopathy for Urinary (Bladder) Incontinence
Unfortunately, most people don’t know that osteopathic medicine can be effective in treating urinary stress incontinence. This form of incontinence is most often found in women and can result from several factors such pregnancy, birth, hormones, heavy smoking and even weight gain.
Urinary stress incontinence can lead to urine leaking during laughter, sneezing, coughing, lifting or anything else that can cause additional pressure within the abdomen.
Most of the time, the common denominator for this type of incontinence is weakness of the “lock” of the bladder caused by injury after giving birth or from hormones (from menopause, heavy smoking, etc.).
Sometimes, it is caused by a misalignment of the bladder itself stemming from things such as weight gain, pregnancy, injury, etc. In the cases of additional pressure on the bladder from weight gain or pregnancy, urinary stress
urinary stress incontinence should resolve itself after birth and/or weight loss. Involuntarily leaking urine can interfere with a person’s daily life and therefore, many people seek osteopathic treatment to try and cure their urinary stress incontinence.
A skilled osteopath evaluates your entire body and discovers whether or not there are any imbalances or injuries that could potential interfere with normal body functions causing bladder dysfunction. Particular attention is paid to several areas including the lower back, pelvis and bladder. Among other things, palpitation of the abdomen may yield the answer to the problem. Depending on what was found during the initial consultation, your osteopath will explain available treatment plans and it may take several sessions to achieve maximum success.
Elissa Gustafson, DOMP and Carolyn Smith, DOMP are manual osteopaths practicing out of the Ottawa Holistic Health Centre located in Ottawa. Sometimes they may recommend physiotherapy directed at the rehabilitation of the perineal region. In doing so, this helps to strengthen the muscles that make up the floor of the pelvis. With a combination of osteopathic manipulations and exercises, many people can resolve their urinary stress incontinence.