Causes Of Urinary Incontinence

Normal function of the bladder involves three areas: bladder sensors, the sphincter, pelvic floor and nerves associated with the bladder.

If the sensors that tell you whether your bladder is full are not are working as they should, it can create the sensation or “urge” of wanting to urinate when your bladder is not full. Your bladder will start contracting and squeezing at the wrong time. This is a form of incontinence called urge incontinence.

If there is any damage to the sphincter or pelvic floor, urine can flow out involuntarily or when you do not want it to. A weak pelvic floor will not provide enough support for the bladder. If this condition exists, the base of the bladder could protrude through the pelvic floor. This creates stress on the pelvic floor. If any additional pressure is put on the pelvic floor such as a cough, sneeze, laugh or the acting of heavy lifting, urine can leak through the urethra. This is referred to as stress incontinence.

If the nerves that communicate with your brain and spinal cord become damaged, then one can develop what is called mixed incontinence or a combination of stress and urge incontinence. This happens because messages or signals are not traveling from the brain properly.

Prolapse

A prolapse is the protrusion of a pelvic organ into the vagina. Pelvic floor weakness makes prolapse more likely. Here are the scenarios:

• The bladder can protrude against the front or back wall of the vagina
• The womb can also prolapse into the vagina. This is sometimes visible at the entrance of the vagina.

Prolapse often occurs with stress incontinence. If you already suffer from stress incontinence, a physician can examine you to determine whether prolapse is also evident.