The Benefits Of Kegel Exercises

Kegel exercises or Pelvic Floor Exercises are exercises that increase the strength of the pelvic floor muscles and are named after Dr. Arnold Kegel. They are beneficial to women of all ages especially those preparing for birth although they can also help increase sexual enjoyment. Kegel exercises are straightforward to learn and extremely easy, you can perform them in just a few minutes while laying in bed, in the car or in fact pretty much anywhere.

There are many different causes for a damaged pelvic floor and the most common is the strain brought on from vaginal childbirth therefore, strengthening the pelvic floor muscles can ease delivery and make it safer for both mother and child.

Strong pelvic muscles also help control incontinence, many women suffer from incontinence and urinary incontinence brought on by childbirth as well as conditions known as vaginal prolapse and pelvic organ prolapse. In these conditions the uterus, bladder and guts are not properly supported and this leads on to urinary tract and bladder infections as well as incontinence.

Kegel exercises for women can also help with conditions brought on by obesity, aging and naturally feeble pelvic muscles. Many women that have had problems with sexual stimulation and climax have found a great natural cure in the Kegel exercise.

Performing Kegel exercise is fairly straightforward, the general exercise is performed by simply flexing the same muscles that are used to stop the flow of urine. It is important to note that you never want to do the exercise when urinating, this can end up in incomplete emptying of the bladder. It is generally recommended that you slowly build up the time you hold the muscles and be sure to rest the muscles for a similar amount of time and you do the exercises two or 3 times a day.

NHS approves new pelvic muscles’ toner

Pelvic floor exercises are widely known as one of the most effective treatment for urinary stress incontinence but a lack of orientation from GP’s and the NHS itself has devalued this practice. Nevertheless, things are about to change thanks to brand new device called the Pelvic Toner.

It’s been 60 years since Arnold Kegel developed its worldwide famous exercise programme, also known as Pelvic Floor Exercises, to strengthen pelvic floor muscles and reduce the episodes of stress incontinence in women. But as afore mentioned scarcity of resources and information led women to loose faith in this practice.

The main reason was that they were simply handed a sheet of paper with instructions to use unsupervised. With PelvicToner things are about to change, following an extremely successful clinical trial and a robust cost-benefit evaluation, GP’s can now offer a more effective and faster treatment option to the millions women of all ages that present with the distressing symptoms of Stress Urinary Incontinence.

Published in the British Journal of Urology International the study reported an exceptional level of satisfaction with over 80% of PelvicToner users reporting significant improvement within a couple of weeks. Based on that the NHS has decided that the PelvicToner™ will be available on prescription with effect from January 2011. The PelvicToner will be the only product available under the brand new Drug Tariff category of Pelvic Toning Devices.

Research leader and author of the British Journal of Urology International article, Professor Marcus Drake of the Bristol Urology Institute, stated:

“Continence service provision is patchy and this sort of product empowers women, gives them better privacy and the prospect of not wasting their time. In our study the PelvicToner aided women to identify their pelvic floor confidently. It increases patient choice and may promote subsequent compliance and sustained efficacy.”

Clinical trials also confirmed that the PelvicToner is much more effective than expensive electrical stimulation devices and weighted vaginal cones reason why it has been recognised by the NHS and a special new category of ‘Pelvic Toning Devices’ has been created on the Drug Tariff IXA.

When Your Incontinence Is a Symptom of Something Else

I always find it interesting that while I am taking care of a patient for something, often another family member will say to me, "You know, I should come see you." Many times it is for incontinence, and it is something they have been dealing with for years.

Many people, women in particular, have ignored their symptoms of incontinence and overactive bladder because they felt it was all a part of aging. Many women will tell me that their mother and grandmother had incontinence and just dealt with it, so they felt they had to deal with it as well. As I have stressed time and time again, incontinence is not normal and should be evaluated first to help you get better, and second, to make sure it is not a sign of something worse.

The most serious and worrisome diagnosis in someone with urgency and frequency of urination would be cancer in the bladder. When a patient comes into my office with these symptoms, cancer is the first thing I work them up for. Incontinence for the most part is not that common, but the irritative voiding symptoms are often a first sign of a low grade cancer.

Bladder cancer is a very interesting cancer. Found at a low grade or stage is remarkably treatable by minimally invasive means. Found at later stages makes it a very challenging disease to cure. This is why all urologists are vigilant about evaluating and finding bladder cancer early. If you have signs and symptoms consistent with overactive bladder like frequently urinating and have a sudden urge to go which is hard to control, make sure you get some simple tests done instead of just allowing your physician to place you on medications.

Another situation which can cause you to have overactive bladder and some incontinence is kidney stones. Whenever I tell people this, they often report that they have no pain and wouldn't they have pain if they had a kidney stone? Not necessarily.

If you have a small stone stuck in the tube that travels from the kidney to the bladder, called the ureter, it may only cause some bladder symptoms and not necessarily pain. Recently, I found two young women who had these bladder symptoms for over a year and it was discovered that they each a kidney stone very low down irritating the bladder.

There are other causes for urgency and frequency as well, like a urinary tract infection. This too can cause incontinence. Most of the time, the testing for the above mentioned situations are easy, and I think it is worth the extra time it may take to make sure you don't have something more serious. If you are not seeking medical attention for your bladder symptoms because you don't think it is a big deal, think again. Even if you choose not to have any treatment for your incontinence, please see a doctor and make sure that is all it is!

Can I Get a New Bladder?

Incontinence - Can I Get a New Bladder? IncontinenceNetwork.comIn Incontinence?In IncontinenceEntire SiteIn IncontinenceEntire Site Top Incontinence NewsUnderstanding Urinary IncontinenceCheck a SymptomIncontinence DrugsDoctors/HospitalsClinical TrialsIncontinence Web ResourcesThe First 48 HoursPreventionTreatmentTests and ResultsTypes of IncontinenceInsurance HelpOrganize your Caregiving Community! Meet Our CommunitySee All SharepostsSee All QuestionsSupport GroupsAsk the ExpertFree Newsletter.Sign up now!EmailPassword (Forgot Password?)Remember Me Thursday, August 05, 2010Incontinence Home > SharePosts > Health Professional > Jennifer Sobol, D.O. > Can I Get a New Bladder? Font size A A A Email MoreRSS Save to My Home This helped! Can I Get a New Bladder?Related: bladder, Incontinence,  More Tags> electrical stimulation, Incontinence, new bladder, bladder surgery ,  Fewer Tags> More Topics > Jennifer Sobol, D.O. Health ProfessionalUrologic Surgeon

Jennifer Sobol, D.O., is a urologic surgeon who practices general...

Send MessageSubscribeJennifer Sobol, D.O.Wednesday, April 16, 2008View All of Jennifer Sobol, D.O.'s Posts

I am routinely asked about the possibility of transplanting a new bladder. It is an interesting thought isn't it. I mean, if you have a liver or kidneys that do not work right, then you are put on a list and hopefully will eventually receive one of these organs. Transplanting a bladder would be a wonderful option for those patients who bladders have failed them. Unfortunately, transplanting a bladder would be extremely risky and because having a working bladder is not mandatory to live, the risk is not worthwhile. That being said, having a malfunctioning bladder is no fun, and threatens a person's quality of life.

 

That doesn't mean that you are out of options if your bladder stops working. Previously I have spent a lot of time talking about incontinence. When I talk about a bladder not working, I am really specifically talking about the functions of the bladder, the ability to store urine at low pressures and the ability to eliminate urine at a low enough pressure to not transmit pressure to the kidneys. When the bladder is unable to store urine appropriately, you often end up with incontinence. There are many options to help the bladder store urine. I am going to use this share post to discuss some surgical options.

 

For a very long time the mainstay of improving bladder capacity and the ability to store urine was to augment the bladder. There are many different techniques for this, using various portions of bowel, and even stomach. Basically, we "borrow" a segment of bowel, leaving it attached to its blood supply and attach it to the bladder. This is often enough to keep a patient dry and be able to delay having to void. Unfortunately, this option usually leaves a patient with the inability to empty their bladder on their own, and most patients will have to catheterize themselves. This is the trade off. We also augment bladder when the pressures in the bladder are dangerously high and pose a threat to the kidneys.

 

For the most part, we reserve bladder augmentation for extreme cases these days. We now have other options that are less risky. I have discussed Botox in the bladder previously and this is a situation where it would really work. Neuromodulation is another option that I will discuss in another share post to come, but basically, it is a low level electrical stimulation that improves refractory urgency, frequency and incontinence due to uninhibited bladder contractions.

 

On the horizon is a very exciting possibility and it is the closest thing to a new bladder. At Wake Forest University they have been working on growing a bladder in a lab and implanting that into a person. It seems that a person's cells will be cultured and grown in a lab. Eventually the new tissue will be implanted into the bladder and eventually be completely incorporated into the native bladder. This will hopefully improve capacity, compliance and still preserve the ability to eliminate urine voluntarily. The research is moving along nicely and hopefully will be a realistic option for humans in the near future. View comments (4) |  Add commentNotify me when there are new commentsReport Abuse Email MoreRSS Save to My Home This helped! People who read this also read...can rhabdomyolysis be curedwhat causes kidney infectionsdialysis centersurethral stricture symptomslupus nephritiskidney biopsy What the community is saying...loss of bowel controlPosted 03/25 Comments (1)03/25/10 butcherTopics:Side Effectsi have had a 3...butcherProfile >>Ask a Question

Get answers from our experts and community members.

Ask a question... View all questions (747) >We found questions that seem similar to yours. Click on one below to view answers to that question: Related Incontinence Topicsamyloid diseasewhat are the symptoms of kidney cancercure for kidney stoneswhat is a kidney transplantdangers of kidney dialysiswhat is urethritisView All >>

Note: All clinical content on this site is physician-reviewed, except material generated by our community members.

Featuring Content From:

We comply with the HONcode standard for
trustworthy health information: verify here.Privacy Policy |Service Terms and Agreement |Advertising Policy |Contact Us |About Us |RSS Feed |Site Map |How to Use This Site

By using this service, you accept our Terms of Use. Please read them. The consumer health information on is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. You should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health, and you should always consult your physician before starting a fitness regimen. Copyright © 2005-2010. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. All rights reserved.

document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js' %3E%3C/script%3E")); COMSCORE.beacon({ c1:2, c2:6035874, c3:"", c4:"", c5:"", c6:"", c15:"" });

Understanding Saturated Fats

On our previous article we mentioned a study that found out that a diet low in saturated fats can reduce the occurrence of incontinence episodes. That said, we decided to dig deeper on the subject to provide our readers with more information about these fats.

According to the American Heart Association:

“Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheese and other dairy products made from whole and 2%milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.”

The American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee strongly advises these fat guidelines for those trying to live a healthy life:

* Limit total fat intake to less than 25–35 percent of your total calories each day;
* Limit saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of total daily calories;
* Limit trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of total daily calories;
* The remaining fat should come from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils; and
* Limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day, for most people.  If you have coronary heart disease or your LDL cholesterol level is 100 mg/dL or greater, limit your cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams a day.

For example, a sedentary female who is 31–50 years old needs about 2,000 calories each day. Therefore, she should consume less than 16 g saturated fat, less than 2 g trans fat and between 50 and 70 grams of total fat each day (with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils).

Got any more questions about saturated fats and the influence on incontinence don’t hesitate to contact us or our nurse specialist Shona.

Treating Mixed Urinary Incontinence with Magnetic Stimulation

Mixed urinary incontinence is probably the most difficult type of incontinence to treat because leakage can occur by urgency as well as by stress. In most cases it requires a staged multimodal treatment.

A recent study published on the BJUI (British Journal of Urology International) analysed the effectiveness of a pulsating magnetic field created by a device called Pulsegen – a small pocket device designed to fit in a patient’s underwear that produces a pulsating magnetic field of B = 10 microT intensity and a frequency of 10 Hz.

Powered by a small battery with a lifespan of about 8 weeks the stimulator provides 8 weeks of continuous functional magnetic stimulation.

The study assigned 39 with mixed urinary incontinence randomly in double-blind fashion to stimulation with either an active or inactive identical device.

After a two month follow up patients who remained blinded to treatment reported the success. Patients using the active device reported a significant decrease in 24-hour voiding frequency (from 9.0 to 6.7), nocturnal (from 2.6 to 1.4), and incontinence pad use (from 3.9 to 2.2).

Overall, 42% of the patients in the active functional magnetic stimulation group reported a clinical cure compared with 23% in the placebo group.

Sourced from: http://www.bjui.org/

New rights for million of carers

The first of October 2010 will be marked as a historical day for UK carers. Thanks to Equality Act 2010, millions of unpaid carers gained new rights; they cannot be directly discriminated against or harassed because they are caring for disabled people.

The Equality Bill introduces four important new opportunities for carers:

• Socio-economic disadvantage
Clause 1 requires public authorities to have due regard to socio- economic disadvantage when exercising strategic planning functions.

• Associative discrimination
The Bill recognises the concept of ‘associative’ discrimination in relation to disabled
people – and widens the impact of the Coleman decision (clause 13 of the Bill) to make unlawful such discrimination, not only in relation to a person’s employment, but also in relation to goods, services, housing and other fields.

• Indirect discrimination
The Bill contains an explicit provision relating to indirect discrimination and disabled
People (clause 19) – which is not found in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Indirect discrimination occurs where an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice puts, or would put, people with a protected characteristic (i.e. due to disability or sex or race etc) at a particular disadvantage compared with other people, unless that provision, criterion or practice can be objectively justified as being a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. A problem with this formulation is that there is a need to establish a comparator – i.e. a person who has not got the protected characteristic, and would not be adversely affected. An example is a height restriction for people wanting to enter the police force. This was neutral (i.e. it affected men and women alike) but because women are generally shorter than men, this provision adversely affected more of them than men.

• Impact assessments
The Bill (clause 145) extends the current duty on public bodies – such as local authorities and the NHS – to ensure that their policies and practices do not have an adverse impact on disabled (and other) persons. This duty is not merely negative: it includes an obligation to ensure that policies and practices are designed to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. This includes an obligation to consider the impact of their policies and practices because of the concept of ‘associative’ discrimination.

The text above was extracted from a briefing of the Equality Act 2010 provided by Carers UK and you can download it here.