A 2009 study by the University of California, San Francisco showed that women who lost as little as eight percent of their body weight experienced an average 47% reduction in episodes of both stress incontinence and urge incontinence, with some seeing the number of incontinence episodes drop by an astounding 70%.
The study’s findings, which were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded that reduction in urinary incontinence can be considered among the primary benefits of even moderate weight loss in significantly overweight women.

The study included a group of 338 overweight and obese women between 45 and 60 years of age, all of whom were experiencing at least 10 episodes of urinary incontinence per week. The participants were divided into two groups, one of which was put on an intensive six-month weight loss program that included diet, exercise, and lifestyle modification.

The other group of participants did not take part in any structured weight loss program, but were given educational classes on the importance of weight loss to incontinence management.

At the end of the six months, the participants in the weight loss group had dropped an average of eight percent of their body weight, while the control group showed an average weight loss of just over one percent.

Episodes of urinary incontinence dropped in both groups during the study period, but the difference between the groups was striking. The weight loss group reported 47% fewer episodes on average, while the control group reported 28% fewer episodes. The weight loss group showed a clinically relevant drop in the number of episodes of all types of incontinence, the researchers said, but episodes of stress incontinence showed the most dramatic reduction.

Stress incontinence, which is the involuntary loss of urine caused by seemingly inconsequential actions such as sneezing, coughing, or laughing, or by movement such as exercise or lifting, is one of the most common female health problems in the US.

More than 13 million women experience stress incontinence, and it is estimated that one in three women will experience it at some time. The condition is caused be weakness in the pelvic floor muscles, including the sphincter muscle that closes off the bladder. Weakness in these muscles can be caused by a number of factors, including pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, certain medical procedures (notably, hysterectomies), and some medications.

Major depression, hypertension, enlarged prostates, and older age are all associated with an increased risk of moderate to severe urinary incontinence (UI) in men, a large study suggests.

The findings, which provide one of the first snapshots of urinary incontinence in men, may help improve doctors’ ability to identify men who are suffering from the condition, says study head Alayne Markland, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Overall, 4.5% of American men were found to experience moderate to severe urinary incontinence, which corresponds to having leakage at least once a month, the study showed.

The rate increases with age, from 0.7% in men ages 20 to 34 to 16% in men age 75 and older, the study showed.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

Studies suggested that urinary incontinence is less common among men than women, but there was felt to be a lack of data on Urinary Incontinence and risk factors in men, Dr. Markland felt.

So she and colleagues analyzed data from 5,297 men aged 20 and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative survey of the U.S. population.

Men were interviewed in their homes, and Urinary Incontinence was assessed using the 12-point Incontinence Severity Index in which participants are asked if they leak and if so, how much and how often. Moderate to severe Urinary Incontinence was defined as a score of 3 or higher.

Among all the men, major depression and hypertension were associated with a 2.6-fold and a 30% increased risk of moderate to severe UI, respectively.

Each 10-year increase in age was associated with an 80% increased risk.

Among the 3,010 men aged 40 and older, enlarged prostate — called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) — was associated with a 20% greater chance of having moderate to severe UI.

The rate of moderate to severe Urinary Incontinence did not differ by race or ethnicity.

A total of 49% of the men had what is known as urge urinary incontinence, in which you feel like you have to go but can’t get to the bathroom in time, Dr. Markland said. Thirteen percent had stress urinary incontinence, which occurs when an activity, such as coughing or sneezing, causes a small amount of urine to leak. The rest had a combination.
BPH a Known Cause of Urinary Incontinence

BPH is a well-known cause of UI, says Ira Sharlip, MD, clinical professor of urology at the University of California, San Francisco.

“Nightly bathroom runs may be the first sign of an enlarged prostate, other symptoms may include trouble starting a stream of urine, leaking, or dribbling” says Dr. Sharlip, who was not involved with the study.

That’s because an can press against the urethra (the tube that carries urine out the body) and block the flow of urine. This causes the bladder wall to become irritable. The bladder begins to contract even when it contains small amounts of urine, causing more frequent urination.

More research is needed to find out why depression and hypertension are associated with higher rates of UI, Dr. Markland said.

Medications called diuretics that are often used to treat may play a role, she says. They flush excess fluid from the body and can cause frequent urination.

Some of the drugs used to treat depression may also cause UI, Sharlip says.

“Urinary incontinence is something people don’t want to talk about,” says Lauren P. Wallner, PhD, MPH, a research fellow in the department of urology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

“If you’re having symptoms, bring it to the attention of your Doctor or Health professional as it can often be treated with medication, behavioral therapy and, in severe cases, surgery,” she said.

Many find it difficult to manage, leading to frustration and even isolation and depression in the worse cases. Yet, incontinence is not a disease, but rather a symptom of underlying conditions that affect men and women of all ages and backgrounds.

The many causes of incontinence include pregnancy, surgery, infections or even just being overweight. It also can be triggered by a variety of other diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and even diabetes.
There are also different types of incontinence:
• Stress incontinence: A small amount of urine is released by such everyday physical activities even ones as basic as, coughing, sneezing or laughing. This is generally due to weakened pelvic floor muscles and in many cases can be easily treated by activities such as pelvic floor exercises.

• Urge incontinence: The urge to urinate comes on so suddenly that it is impossible to reach a toilet in time. This generally results in larger losses than stress incontinence. Bladder re-training may help improve this condition.

• Overflow incontinence: The bladder is constantly filled, causing it to release small amounts of urine frequently.

• Reflex incontinence: The absence of bladder control is due to impaired nerve function. This is often linked to other diseases.

• Faecal Incontinence: Impaired rectal sensation or muscle control results in the loss of faeces (stools) or the staining of underclothes.

We always advocate discussing the symptoms with your own health professional as they are best placed to diagnose your own symptoms and condition and recommend appropriate treatments.

Today we bring you the first of these webisodes with Whoopi dressed as Mona Lisa. The former Golden Globe winner deals with this serious matter that affects 1 in 3 women in a fun way that hopefully will incite women experiencing LBL (light bladder leakage) to go and see a doctor or at least talk to someone about it.

Unfortunately there is no quick-fix solution with either condition – the exception being certain surgical procedures – however with some focus and effort there are proved ways to curb male and female incontinence.

The first and perhaps most demanding way of numbering the number of incident of incontinence, is to lose weight.

Regularly emptying your bladder is a very important thing to do. It does not necessarily reduce or cure incontinence; it has preventative benefits that are necessary to stop the condition worsening. Not going regularly when you have incontinence can lead to problems such as an overstretched bladder or a bladder infection. The most important time to make sure you always go – even if you don’t feel little to no urge – is before and after means and before going to bed.

And even simpler method for dealing with incontinence is to breathe deeply, especially in instance of sudden urges, in which case try your best not to panic with calm inhalations. It helps to think confident thoughts that encourage you to feel in control; telling yourself you are not going to have an accident while you breathe.

By the same token, reducing stress and tension in your life is going to help this process of psychologically managing incontinence, the reason being that emotions and your body’s central nervous system are inextricably linked. Being depressed, anxious or angry all the while can negatively affect you bodily sensations. At the very least, it’s worth taking at least an hour out of every day to walk in the park, have a bath, watch a movie you know you like etc. Any activity that helps you to unwind – which, actually, is good to do regardless.

Mrs B underwent Tension-free Vaginal Tape (TVT) treatment and the negligence occurred during her aftercare and related to the use and monitoring of a catheter which caused her chronic pain and eventually chemical peritonitis.

This led Mrs B in need of a further operation and a prolonged recovery period as well as panic attacks, nightmares, reduced self-confidence as well as bladder problems.

After Mrs B’s problems were proved to be correlated to the negligent stress incontinence treatment, the court ordered that Mrs B to be compensated with the sum of £24,000.

People and entities’ names involved in this story have been omitted for privacy reasons.

Developed by Novasys Medical, Inc., the Renessa treatment offers women afflicted with stress urinary incontinence an opportunity to resume activities that make their lives fulfilling.

The Renessa treatment can be performed in the convenience of a physician’s office, or in an outpatient setting, using local anaesthesia. There are no incisions, bandages or dressings required. Recovery is rapid and comfortable, with minimal post-procedure limitations.

More than 350 urologists, uro-gynaecologists and gynaecologists have been trained and have performed the Renessa procedure on nearly 3,000 patients.

About Novasys Medical

Novasys Medical, Inc. is a privately held, venture-backed company which develops innovative therapies in women’s health. The company’s initial focus is the development and commercialization of the Renessa System, a proprietary, non-surgical approach to the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

However, many different procedures can be performed; a recent study compared the effectiveness of less invasive procedures to traditional open surgery and other surgical approaches.

In total, data from 62 trials involving 7,101 women was collected for analysis, the study was conducted by Cochrane Researchers from The Cochrane Collaboration, a respectful and reliable source of evidence in health care.

After comparing different types of incontinence surgical procedures, researchers concluded that less invasive operations can be as effective as traditional open surgery for incontinence.

Lead researcher, Joseph Ogah from the Leeds University Teaching Hospital in Leeds, said:

“These were only small trials and they varied greatly in quality, but we were able to make comparisons between different types of surgery and we found that minimally invasive sling operations for stress incontinence in women are very effective for this condition.”

And concluded:

“However, few of the trials we looked at reported outcomes after one year and therefore the long term efficiency of these procedures requires further investigation. It is also of utmost importance to assess how these procedures impact on women’s quality of life, so this needs to be addressed in further studies.”

Have you received surgery for stress incontinence? If you would like to share your experience and success, we would be very grateful if you wrote your comments below.

The hospital is one of the first in Australia to use a MINIARC – a non-invasive miro-sling fitted during day surgery.

Professor Ajay Rane, the hospital’s director of urogynaecology:

“The surgical procedure is quite a small procedure – it takes about two to three minutes, it involves making a small cut where the bladder is and then we insert this little sling.”

The structure is so robust that we believe it will hold on even if you were to say go for a run after 48 hours or lift some heavy shopping bags.”

He added: “Our oldest patient is 95-years-old and our youngest patient is 17. In fact, the operation is so minimally invasive it can be done in some instances under local anaesthesia and therefore it can be actually used for patients of any age group whatsoever.”

Whilst these sorts of treaments are suited to some people, others prefer the completely non-invasive option.

If this is you, then Allanda provide all the products and advice required to deal with your incontinence.

Please visit the website for more information.

A total of 32 hammock-shaped tape interventions were performed on patients who had stress urinary incontinence. Each patient underwent urogynecological assessment with urodynamic evaluation and performed a quality of life questionnaire.

None of the 32 women had any surgical complication, postoperative pain or blood loss greater than 100 cc following the treatment. A few minor complications were recorded and the sling eroded in 1 case.

Urinary continence was achieved in all patients after surgery and at assessments 12 to 18 months later. All the patients confirmed immediate satisfaction with continence and pain on the questionnaire.

TVT-Secur is a minimally invasive surgical technique for stress urinary incontinence in females.

Although procedure has proven to be effective, there are other ways of managing your incontinence that do not involve any surgery.

For further advice and information on stress urinary incontinence, as well as a variety of product, please visit the Allanda website.