Stiffness In The Morning
Its not always easy to get out of bed, but excessive morning back pain and stiffness could be a sign of spinal arthritis. Most types of arthritis including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis cause pain and stiffness that worsen toward the end of the day and after periods of rest, like a nights sleep.
Any part of the spine can become arthritic, but the lower back , is most commonly affected. Thankfully, there are ways to manage the condition. Once diagnosed using a physical exam and x-ray imaging, spinal arthritis can be treated with pain medication and physical therapy. Surgery is needed in rare cases.
Protect yourself before its too late. Getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight, practicing good posture and doing your best to avoid spinal injury all decrease your risk for spinal arthritis and other back-related issues.
Persistent back pain is not uncommon, but it shouldnt be ignored. See your doctor if you experience any of these troubling signs.
This content originally appeared on Sharecare.com.
Other Approaches To Treating Stress Incontinence
Using stool bulking agents or softeners will help avoid constipation and having to strain when opening your bowels. When emptying the bowels and bladder, it may also help to use a low stool to elevate the knees slightly higher than hips, relaxing the pelvic floor and the abdomen. Additionally, avoiding heavy lifting can help avoid raised intra-abdominal pressure leading to SUI.
Another non-surgical option is duloxetine, an antidepressant medication known as a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor . It may help some women but its use is not approved for this purpose in Australia or New Zealand.
Your doctor may recommend surgery if other treatments have not helped. You may be referred to a specialist urogynaecologist to discuss the benefits and risks of surgery for SUI. The types of surgery available for SUI include urethral bulking agents, midurethral slings, colposuspension, or an autologous fascial sling.
None of the types of surgery currently available have a 100% cure rate, however for 80-90% of women, their surgery will provide significant improvement at 12 months post-surgery.
For incontinence caused by neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury, management should be tailored to the individual womanâs needs.
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Medicine From The Shop Low Back Pain With Urinary Incontinence
There are 2 sort of over the counter pain relievers that often aid with back pain: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and also acetaminophen. Both have some adverse effects, as well as some people may not be able to take them. Talk with your medical professional before taking painkiller And also do not expect medication alone to address your discomfort issue. Researches reveal youll most likely need more than one type of therapy.
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Low Estrogen During Menopause Can Lead To Overactive Bladder
Many people experience overactive bladder. However, overactive bladder is more common in women, and the risk for OAB increases as we approach middle age. This is also the time where our hormone levels begin to fluctuate, eventually leading to menopause.
Studies suggest . Estrogen is an important hormone in your body that is responsible for many different functions. You can find estrogen receptors throughout the body, including in the bladder. Therefore, changes in estrogen levels during and after menopause may lead to overactive bladder symptoms.
Does Estrogen Replacement Therapy Help With Incontinence
Posted by Jeanne Lowry on March 17, 2016 under BladderMatters |
Original post written by Dr. Anna Garrett for LiveConfidently.com
Given that estrogen plays such a significant role in the function of these tissues, it makes sense that replacing the estrogen might be a good idea. For years, millions of women took synthetic estrogen to manage the symptoms of menopause, but in 2002 the Womens Health Initiative study data showed that estrogen replacement might be causing more harm than good. In that study, oral estrogen replacement, in combination with medroxyprogesterone , was associated with increased risk of cancer, stroke, and blood clots.
The majority of studies of oral estrogen for treatment of incontinence have shown that it actually makes symptoms worse in women who already have incontinence and can trigger incontinence in women who dont already have it. Therefore, oral estrogen is not recommended as an option for treatment of incontinence.
Additionally, you can find varying levels of products for incontinence at TotalHomeCareSupplies.com.
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Common Causes Of Back Pain
The back undergoes a lot of wear and tear due to twisting, lifting, and supporting a personâs body weight.
There are many possible causes of back pain. They may occur at the same time as urinary incontinence, though the two symptoms are not always related.
Some
When incontinence and back pain arise due to a single underlying condition, they are not usually symptoms that a person can treat at home.
However, a person can try the following steps to try to improve their symptoms:
- Avoid substances that worsen incontinence. These include caffeine, alcohol, and carbonated beverages.
- Try nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . These include ibuprofen and naproxen. NSAIDs can help relieve pain and reduce the inflammation that can lead to discomfort.
- Apply a cloth-covered ice pack to the back for 10 minutes at a time. This can help relieve irritation and swelling that can cause back pain and discomfort.
- Avoid smoking. Smoking is a known risk factor for incontinence and can also contribute to the development of conditions that cause back pain.
A person can also review the medications they currently take with their doctor. However, they should not stop taking any medications without a doctorâs approval.
If someone has a herniated disk, there are several exercises that may help relieve pain. Gentle activities, such as swimming and yoga, can also be beneficial.
Will Hormone Replacement Help With Bladder Control
Many women complain of urine leakage with activity or with an uncontrollable urge .
Some women feel there is a worsening of the urinary incontinence around the time of the menses. Still others notice a worsening of incontinence symptoms with menopause, when estrogen levels drop to very low levels.
That estrogen plays a role in these symptoms is pretty certain, but exactly how it affects urinary incontinence is not clearly understood. Estrogen has a enhancing effect on the vaginal and urethral mucosa, and the pelvic floor muscles, rejuvenating the tissues and making them more elastic.
The most noticeable effects of estrogen on urinary tract symptoms occur when it is applied locally. This provides high levels that produce dramatic tissue effects, while limiting blood levels and exposure to other body areas such as uterus or breast.
Studies show an significant improvement in post menopausal women urinary symptoms with vaginal estrogen, but ironically an increase in the symptoms when estrogen is given orally. The latter is consistent with women complaining of a worsening of the incontinence with the profession of their cycle, although it is not known exactly why this seems to occur.
The take home message is that vaginal estrogen can significantly improve urinary incontinence symptoms in post menopausal women.
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Symptoms Of Urinary Incontinence During Menopause
Urinary incontinence, bladder control problems are common for women going through menopause.
After the end of your menstrual cycles, your body stops making the female hormone estrogen. In addition to controlling your monthly periods and the changes during pregnancy, estrogen also helps keep the lining of the bladder and the urethra healthy.
As we age, many factors can weaken the pelvic floor muscles responsible for bladder control resulting in urinary incontinence. This includes damage during pregnancy, childbirth, and weight gain.
Women with urinary incontinence can experience symptoms beyond leakage. Its important to note which symptoms are affecting you so that you can relay the information to your gynecologist. Some symptoms include:
- Frequency Urinating more often than normal
- Urgency The urge to urinate, even if the bladder is empty
- Feelings of pressure or discomfort in the lower abdomen
- Dysuria Painful urination or burning while urinating
- Nocturia The need to get out of bed to urinate several times a night
- Enuresis Urinating the bed while asleep
Vaginal Estrogen And Surgery
It is known that topical estrogen can treat age-related skin changes such as wrinkles and thin skin. Estrogen also increases the rate of cutaneous wound healing in older women and men. Estrogens act on the cutaneous wound healing response by modulating the inflammatory response, cytokine expression and matrix deposition. They also accelerate re-epithelialization, stimulating angiogenesis and wound contraction, and regulate proteolysis. While estrogens impact wound on healing of nonkeratinized vaginal epithelium remains to be described, its potential positive impact, currently adds to the rationale for perioperative use in vaginal surgery. There are no studies that directly compare the ease of the surgical procedure or its outcomes in women pretreated with intravaginal estrogen compared to those without treatment with intravaginal estrogen.
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Treatments For Menopausal Urinary Symptoms
Systemic HT may reduce the urinary symptoms of urgency, frequency, nocturia and painful urination, but there is continuing debate about the effectiveness of systemic HT in treating urogenital atrophy.
Local estrogen, applied externally, is helpful in relieving the symptoms of urinary urgency, frequency and stress incontinence, and can also help prevent urogenital atrophy and the recurrence of urinary tract infections.
The most common treatment for vaginal atrophy symptoms is low-dose vaginal estrogen replacement, utilizing creams, tablets or vaginal rings.
However, some women are not able to have HT for any menopausal urinary symptoms such as women with breast cancer. For symptoms of vaginal atrophy, they can use vaginal moisturizers for normal relief and vaginal lubricants to relieve dryness prior to intercourse.
Non-hormonal treatments for bladder control symptoms, including those related to pelvic organ prolapse and weakening of the pelvic floor muscles, can involve lifestyle changes and medical procedures. These include:
- Reducing caffeine
- Bladder-training techniques that increase the capacity to hold urine, control the timing of urination, and control body functions with the help of a machine
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Avoiding stress to the pelvic area and doing Kegel exercises
- Electrical stimulation of the bladder muscles
- A device placed in the urethra that blocks leakage
- Various surgical techniques to restructure support for the prolapsed organ.
Types And Symptoms Of Urinary Incontinence
Bladder leakage is a medical condition shared by millions of women. To better understand bladder leakage, it is important to explain urinary incontinence and the different types of incontinence. 2
Urinary Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine from the body. UI can be frequent or occasional. The loss of urine can range from a few dribbles to a complete emptying of the bladder.9
There are several types of Urinary Incontinence, including:
- Stress Urinary Incontinence occurs when urine leaks during exercise, coughing, sneezing, laughing or any movement that puts pressure on the bladder.3
- Urge Urinary Incontinence involves the sudden and unstoppable loss of urine the sudden urge to go.3
- Mixed Urinary Incontinence is a combination of stress and urge incontinence.3
- Overactive Bladder is the urgent need to urinate. OAB can result in urinating with excessive frequency more than eight times a day or more than once at night as well as urgency, a strong and sudden desire to urinate. Overactive bladder is also referred to as urge incontinence.3
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Can Back Pain And Incontinence Be The Result Of Another Condition
Though rare, one disorder that could cause back pain and UI is cauda equina syndrome . CES affects the bundle of nerve roots at the end of your spinal cord. These nerve roots send and receive signals from your brain and control the lower half of your body and your pelvic organs.
When the nerve roots are compressed, the pressure cuts off sensation and control. The nerves that control your bladder and bowels are particularly susceptible to the loss of control caused by this disorder.
A ruptured disc may also put pressure on the nerve roots. This disc and the pressure on the nerve roots can lead to back pain.
And, a form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis may cause back pain. This condition causes inflammation in your spinal joints. The inflammation can lead to discomfort and chronic severe pain.
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Absorbent Pads And Garments
There are various products that you can try if medical treatments cant eliminate your symptoms. For example, you can wear absorbent pads. Remove the paper lining covering the adhesive and place it on the bottom of your underwear.
Not only will they keep you dry, but theyll also help reduce the odor of urine.
Estrogen therapy may have several positive effects in women with stress incontinence who are estrogen deficient. Estrogen may increase the density of alpha-receptors in the urethra. In addition, it increases the vascularity of the urethral mucosa and may augment the coaptive abilities of the urethral mucosa. In theory, those effects should translate into improved continence however, several studies stand in opposition of those assumptions.
A number of small studies show oral estrogen therapy to be of no clinical benefit to women with stress incontinence or detrusor overactivity. In a subgroup analysis of postmenopausal women enrolled in the Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study , worsening of incontinence occurred in 39% of patients in the hormone treatment group, compared with 27% of patients in the placebo group.
Pharmacologic therapy using estrogen derivatives results in few cures but may cause subjective improvement in 29-66% of women. It may be useful in postmenopausal women with atrophic vaginitis or intrinsic sphincter deficiency.
References
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Symptoms Of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Typically, we associate the following symptoms with spinal stenosis in the lumbar, or lower back, area:
- Pain in the lower back
- Numbness in the legs or feet
- Tingling in the legs or feet
- A weakness or feeling that the legs may not be able to support standing
- Sciatica symptoms of a searing pain that runs from the buttocks and then down one leg or the other
- Noticeable difference in the level of pain experienced while standing or walking and then what is felt when the individual sits down
- Pain level decreasing when an individual leans or bends forward
The reason that bladder issues belong on the list of symptoms associated with lumbar stenosis is that the nerves at the lower end of the lumbar region branch out into the peripheral nervous system, which is where bladder function and sensation are controlled. Compression of these nerves due to lumbar stenosis can lead to neurogenic bladder dysfunction and present as urinary issues such as frequency, urgency and lack of control.
Pain and the other symptoms that are normally associated with lower back issues are difficult enough to deal with. When incontinence or any other sort of urinary issue is added, many people allow their quality of life to be severely impacted due to embarrassment. This makes it even more important to visit a healthcare professional as soon as symptoms are noticed.
Can Lack Of Estrogen Cause Urinary Incontinence
Incontinence is a common problem, especially among women. But did you know that a lack of estrogen can be to blame? Heres what you need to know about estrogen and incontinence.
Estrogen is a female hormone that plays an important role throughout the body. It helps maintain bone density, fat distribution, and skin quality. It also relaxes pelvic muscles.
Women who are menopausal experience a significant drop in estrogen, which causes incontinence to become much more common.
Estrogen can also be useful to treat incontinence. Depending on the type of incontinence you have, estrogen may help tighten pelvic muscles or increase bladder control.
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Symptoms Of Overactive Bladder
Overactive bladder can cause many symptoms. You might have overactive bladder if you:
- Experience sudden urges to urinate immediately
- Cant hold it until you can make it to the toilet
- Experience urine leaks right after a sudden urge to urinate
- Wake up at night frequently to pee
- Urinate more than eight times in a 24-hour day
As you can see, overactive bladder can be a disruptive condition that may affect your overall quality of life. Fortunately, there are treatments available.
Its important to understand that overactive bladder is not a normal part of aging. Our providers can help you find treatment solutions based on your needs and lifestyle, including increasing estrogen levels in your body if low estrogen is to blame for your OAB.
How Is Low Estrogen Treated
Women who have low levels of estrogen may benefit from hormonal treatment. Hormonal treatment is the standard for low estrogen. There are non-hormonal options to help relieve symptoms. Non-hormonal options are preferred for women at high risk for breast cancer, blood clots, stroke, or liver disease.
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Oestrogens And Overactive Bladder
Estrogen has an important role in lower urinary tract function and dysfunction throughout adult life in women. Postmenopausal estrogen deficiency causes atrophic changes in the lower urinary tract and may be associated with urinary frequency, urgency, nocturia, and incontinence. The association of these changes with overactive bladder symptoms is unclear. Systemic and vaginal estrogens have been used for many years during and after menopause to manage urinary dysfunction despite the lack of adequate controlled trials confirming their efficacy. Data from large epidemiological studies have questioned the benefits of systemic estrogens for menopausal symptoms of incontinence and OAB. In the last decade, concerns regarding breast cancer and thromboembolic disease have been led to a marked reduction in the number of women seeking systemic hormone replacement therapy for menopausal symptoms.
The aim of this article was to review current evidence-based data on the effect of exogenous estrogen therapy on lower urinary tract function in menopausal and postmenopausal women, specifically those with symptoms of OAB. Evidence is reviewed on use of both systemic and vaginal estrogen therapy as well as combination therapy with antimuscarinic agents in this population.
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