MultiCare Health System

HomeBill PayMyChartAbout UsJobsWays to HelpFor ProvidersFor Staff

• Featured Video:
  OB CareConnect™ Program
• Pregnancy and Newborn Care
• Women's Care
  • Find a Physician
  • Clinical Research
  • Spa & Boutique
  • Specialty Care
    • Breast Health
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular Health
    • Gynecology
    • Mammogram Screening
    • Menopause
    • Nurse-Midwifery Services
    • Osteoporosis
    • Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery
      • Pelvic Floor Disorders Fast Facts
      • Conditions
      • Treatments
      • Women's Health Physical Therapy
      • Our Specialists
       
    • Robotic Surgery Procedures
    • Women's CareConnect™
     
  • Wellness Tools
   
• Children's Care
 

Pelvic Floor Disorders Fast Facts, Tips and Tools

WHAT IS THE PELVIC FLOOR?

The pelvic floor includes the muscles, connective tissue and ligaments that support a woman’s internal organs (bladder, bowel, uterus, vagina and rectum). The pelvic floor plays an important role in the support and proper function of these organs.

WHAT ARE PELVIC FLOOR DISORDERS?

There are many conditions that cause pelvic floor dysfunction, including aging, loss of muscle tone, menopause, multiple vaginal deliveries, obesity, family history, stroke, and certain medical conditions such as diabetes.

SYMPTOMS OF PELVIC FLOOR DISORDERS:

Overactive bladder – the bladder is having spasms and giving abnormal signals to the brain that it is full

• Urgency to empty the bladder
• Voiding frequently (eight or more times a day)
• Getting up more than once at night to use the restroom

Urge incontinence – urinary leakage associated with bladder spasms

• Urinary leakage associated with urgency
• The inability to reach the restroom to urinate on time

Stress Incontinence – the urethra (tube you urinate through) is unable to keep urine in the bladder

• Leakage at the time of an action, such as laughing, coughing, running, jumping

Pelvic organ prolapse – the uterus or vaginal wall have lost their support and are falling into the vaginal canal and out the vaginal opening

• Feeling a heaviness or pressure in the vaginal area
• Feeling tissue protruding out of the vaginal opening
• Difficulty with emptying the bladder
• Difficulty with emptying the bowels

TIPS and TOOLS:

Overactive bladder/Urge incontinence

Don’t run to the restroom with an urge. Try to suppress the urgency by performing a Kegel contraction. When the urge subsides, walk to the restroom, you will have more success in staying dry

The bladder has more frequent contractions (spasms), which cause leakage when it is fuller. Void more frequently to avoid the bladder getting full enough to trigger a bladder spasm.

• Avoid drinking greater than two liters of fluid a day (64 ounces)
• Avoid drinking three hours before bedtime
• Avoid bladder irritants, such as coffee, spicy foods, citrus, carbonation
• Ask your primary care doctor for a referral to a urogynecologist

Stress incontinence

• Perform a Kegel contraction before coughing or sneezing. Hold the contraction during the sneeze
• Empty your bladder before exercise
• Perform 30-60 Kegel exercises a day to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor
• Ask your primary care doctor for a referral to a urogynecologist

Pelvic organ prolapse

• Perform 30-60 Kegel exercises a day to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor
• Ask your primary care doctor for a referral to a urogynecologist