Incontinence

WHAT IS URINARY INCONTINENCE?

Specializing in the Diagnosis and Treatment of URINARY INCONTINENCE, Dr. Craig Herman, top South Florida urologist, serving the Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach areas, pioneered IMAGINE THERAPY, a far superior alternative treatment to drugs and surgery. After just a few sessions results are noticeable and in many cases dramatic.

Click here to learn more about IMAGINE THERAPY
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• Do you leak urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh or exercise?
• Do you leak urine on the way to the bathroom?
• Do you need to wake more than once a night to go to the bathroom?
• Do you need to know the locations of bathrooms when you travel or go shopping?
• Are you afraid that you will leak urine during intimacy and relations?

Urinary Incontinence (UI) is the unintentional loss of urine.

UI affects millions of Americans, both men and women. Although about half of the elderly experience episodes of UI, bladder problems are not a natural consequence of aging. Bladder problems affect adults at all ages, including adults as young as 30 years old.

Although Urinary Incontinence (UI) can be improved in most cases, fewer than half of those with bladder problems ever discuss the condition with their health care provider. Of those that do discuss the condition, many do not wish to avail themselves of pharmacologic or surgical solutions. The disorder, therefore, often goes untreated.

Treatment for Urinary Incontinence (UI) depends on the type of incontinence and its cause. Imagine is effective in treating all of them.

TYPES OF INCONTINENCE

Some individuals with diabetes or various neurological or psychological disorders, including dementia can experience leakage that they are unaware of until wetness is detected on his or her clothing or skin. Imagine may be effective in these cases as well.

TREATMENT

Now there is a far superior alternative treatment to drugs and surgery…

Imagine is a revolutionary non-surgical, non-medicinal physical therapy based on cutting-edge advances in pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation techniques, delivery ergonomics, and life style integration techniques pioneered by Dr. Herman.

Sophisticated medical sensing equipment is used by our highly skilled medical personnel to painlessly guide patients through exercises that help to dramatically improve their urinary symptoms and their lives. After just a few sessions, results are noticeable and in many cases dramatic.

The specific techniques used in Imagine therapy cannot be found anywhere else. The pelvic muscles comprise a striated, skeletal muscle group that is under voluntary control and is critical in maintaining urinary and fecal continence as well as in providing support to the pelvic organs (bladder, rectum and, in women, the uterus). Without sufficient training, many men and women bear down mistakenly or exercise ineffectively.

Imagine therapy increases functional bladder capacity, decreases urgency by decreasing inappropriate bladder contractions, increases pelvic muscular control, and helps patients to effectively integrate their new training into comprehensive control over their entire life. Click here to learn more about IMAGINE THERAPY.

PERSONS AT RISK FOR INCONTINENCE

• Pregnancy and the birthing process especially multiparity or more than one child has been associated with the onset of Urinary Incontinence (UI). When the baby’s head reaches the muscular floor of the mother’s pelvis, the mechanical process of extension of the head, along with further descent of the baby may cause significant stretching and compression of the nerves to the bladder and pelvic muscles. It can also cause soft tissue trauma to muscle and nerves. Women who develop UI in the immediate postpartum period usually regain continence in the next 3-6 months.
• Menopause contributes to Urinary Incontinence (UI) because of depletion of estrogen hormone found in the lower urinary tract of women. Estrogen depletion increases the atrophy rate of the muscosal tissue that lines the urethra and vagina. This deterioration and a decline in mucus production within the urethra weaken the urethra’s ability to maintain a tight seal, especially when intra-abdominal pressure increases with valsalva. Symptoms of urgency, frequency, dysuria and UI may occur.
• Pelvic muscle weakness causing pelvic organ prolapse can occur in women. Pelvic muscle relaxation accelerates rapidly after menopause and progress with aging in general. Even with exogenous estrogen replacement, continued progression of pelvic relaxation is observed. The extent to which pelvic muscle relaxation may be related to earlier nerve damage caused by vaginal delivery, or to other neuropathy, is unknown.
• Immobility, impaired cognitive status, multi-medication use, constipation, low fluid intake and subsequent dehydration are all risk factors for women.
• Pelvic surgery, especially in women who have undergone hysterectomy.
• Obesity has been identified as a risk factor for Urinary Incontinence (UI) in women. The UI seen in obesity may be secondary to increased pressure on the bladder and urethra.
• High-impact physical activities will increase the downward force on the pelvic floor muscles. It is estimated that about one third of women experience urine loss during physical activities.
• Chronic Neurologic Diseases causing bladder nerve neuropathy; e.g. Muliple Sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury, diabetes, Parkinson’s, and stroke, may cause Urinary Incontinence (UI).
• Other causes of Urinary Incontinence (UI) are urinary tract infection and increased fluid intake associated with or without increased frequency of urination day or night..

Call us immediately to schedule an appointment with Dr. Craig Herman for the relief you deserve.