How many women experience bladder weakness

It prompted warnings from medical professionals that women feel unable to confidently reach out for help. Julia Herbert, consultant physiotherapist and clinical director for Pelviva, the company that commissioned the research, warned many women with the condition are not reaching out. Of those who have sought out medical help for their condition, 21 per cent went to see their GP and five per cent have seen a gynecologist.

But 96 per cent of women have heard of pelvic floor exercises, just 10 per cent actually do them regularly. A fifth of those polled, via OnePoll, said they were not sure if they know how to do pelvic floor exercises correctly and 23 per cent have attempted them but did not notice any improvement. Men can develop stress urinary incontinence if they are experiencing problems related to their prostate gland or post prostate surgery.

It is important to have your symptoms assessed by a health professional who will assess your bladder behaviour and pelvic floor and confirm that you have stress urinary incontinence. The main treatment for stress incontinence is pelvic floor exercises.

Surgery to tighten or support the bladder outlet can also help. Medication may be used in addition to exercises if you do not want, or are not suitable for surgery. There is medication available for treating women with moderate to severe stress urinary incontinence, along with pelvic floor muscle exercises.

Older people with other problems in addition to their bladder may benefit from seeing a specialist in medicine for older people. If you are concerned about your problem and it is starting to affect your day-to-day life make an appointment to see your doctor, continence nurse or specialist physiotherapist.

A continence nurse and specialist physiotherapist are healthcare professionals who specialise in bladder and bowel problems. For more detailed information about treatments for stress urinary incontinence you will find more information in the article below. What is Stress Urinary Incontinence? It is extremely common and there are approximately 9 million people in the UK experiencing some form of stress incontinence.

It can affect women and men of all ages, although it is more common among women. Deloitte Access Economics. The economic impact of incontinence in Australia. The Continence Foundation of Australia; Help seeking for urinary incontinence: a survey of those attending GP waiting rooms. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal. Millard R. The prevalence of urinary incontinence in Australia. Continence J. Urinary incontinence: severity, perceptions and population prevalence in Australian women.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.