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What is urinary incontinence? It sounds pretty straightforward, but here are the five classifications:

1. Stress: This is urine leakage that occurs with an increase in intra-abdominal pressure such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting.

2. Urge: This urine leakage that occurs with an uncontrollable need to urinate and inability to delay the urge. This type can also be characterized by increased urgency & frequency where there is no accidental urine leakage. The average voiding for a normally functioning bladder and pelvic floor is 5-8x/day.

3. Overflow: This is when the bladder gets overfull and does not empty normally, causing the bladder to become very distended. This typically is not due to pelvic floor dysfunction, but rather it is a result of diabetes, Parkinson’s, stroke or radiation therapy to the pelvic area, or fistula.

4. Functional incontinence: This is a loss of urine that occurs due to cognitive or physical impairment.

5. Mixed incontinence: This is a combination of stress & urge incontinence. This is the most common type of urinary incontinence amongst women.

There are 3.3 million Canadians that have urinary incontinence. For women, 1 in 4 and for men, 1 in 9 have reported having urinary incontinence. However, 1 in 12 have reported this to their health care providers. This is often due to embarrassment and the misconception that urinary incontinence is normal. With this belief, not many seek out help. Risks factors for urinary incontinence are pregnancy, advanced age, physical activity levels, and obesity.

A study done by Thyssen in 2002 was done on 291 young female athletes, the average age of 22 years old. 51% reported stress urinary incontinence. Of these women, only 13 had history of pregnancy; 138 had never had a pregnancy. This study shows that urinary incontinence is a prevalent issue among all young female athletes, not just amongst post-partum women. This study also revealed that 20% of these women left their sport due to urinary incontinence.

Urinary incontinence is common. It is not a problem only associated with post-partum or aging. It is an indication that the pelvic floor muscles are in need of training and core strategies, especially for women in sport.

I am excited to announce that I am now offering Pelvic Floor physiotherapy assessments and visits. If you have any questions or concerns about your Pelvic Floor and for more information, please contact us!

Charlotte Reiher, MPT, BKIN, CAFCI