Common Symptoms
- Urinary frequency- more than 12 voids in a 24 hour period
- Urinary urgency, hesitancy, retention and/or incomplete emptying
- Nocturia (urinary frequency at night) more than 1 void during sleeping hours
- Pain in the urethra, bladder, and/or pelvis
- Difficulty initiating urination
- Weak urine stream and/or a stream that stops and starts
Definitions of Bladder Conditions
The following definitions explain bladder conditions as they relate to pelvic floor dysfunction. While there can be many causes for bladder dysfunction we focus our treatment on the musculoskeletal components of these conditions. Pain associated with many of these conditions will cause guarding or spasms in the nearby muscles of the pelvic floor. This muscle guarding will result in increased tightening and shortening of the muscle(s), which may create more pain, irritation, and musculoskeletal imbalance.
Interstitial Cystitis (IC): Also known as painful bladder syndrome (PBS). Recurring pain or discomfort in the bladder and the surrounding pelvic region. Signs and symptoms may include urinary urgency, frequency, nocturia (nighttime frequency) and retention; dyspareunia (painful intercourse); pain in the low back, suprapubic area, and/or abdomen; and pain before, during, or after urination.
Urethral Syndrome: Urethral pain, burning, and sensitivity.
Urgency-Frequency Syndrome: This disorder causes urinary frequency, urgency, hesitancy, or retention with or without pain in the bladder, urethra, abdomen, or pelvis.
Urinary Incontinence: Any involuntary loss of urine. This can be due to muscle weakness or muscle spasm/tightness.
- Urge incontinence: Urine loss due to a strong desire to urinate (urgency), with only a quick warning.
- Stress incontinence: Urine loss due to an increase in abdominal pressure, such as coughing, sneezing, lifting, laughing and running.
- Mixed incontinence: Combination of urge and stress incontinence.
Urinary retention: Difficulty or inability to urinate. This could be caused by various medical conditions of the prostate, kidneys or urethra. Additionally, some medications may cause urinary retention. Retention may be a symptom of pelvic floor dysfunction when pelvic floor muscles are in spasm or guarding and a patient is unable to relax the muscles, which is necessary for emptying of the bladder.
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