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Can Weight Gain Cause Urinary Incontinence

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Excess Pounds Can Lead To A Leaky Bladder

Stop Urinary Incontinence by Losing Weight?

By Linda Carroll, Reuters Health

4 Min Read

– Young and middle-aged women who are overweight or obese may be more likely to develop a leaky bladder, researchers say.

Australian researchers found that obese women were twice as likely as those at normal weight to leak urine, according to a paper in Obesity Reviews.

The effect was smaller among women who were overweight but not obese. These women were 35 percent more likely to be incontinent compared to normal-weight women.

While urine leakage may not severely impact health, it can have significant impact on womens well-being, concluded the research team, led by Tayla Lamerton of the School of Movement and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Queensland. Negative health outcomes associated with urinary incontinence include physical discomfort, odor and embarrassment.

That fallout can, in turn, affect physical activity, sleep and personal relationships, the researchers wrote.

To determine the impact of obesity on urine leakage, Lamerton and her colleagues scoured the medical literature for studies with information on incontinence and weight. They settled on 14 studies that contained data on 47,293 women from eight countries: Australia, France, the US, Denmark, England, Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands. Studies were included only if the average age of the women was under 55.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2OFZw0d Obesity Reviews, online September 19, 2018.

How Does Weight Loss Effect Urinary Leakage

Weight loss helps urinary leakage because losing weight in the abdominal area puts less pressure on the bladder.

The muscles arent having to do so much accessory work, so to speak, and theyre able to extend their energy supporting the pelvic floor and the bladder, rather than all of the additional pressure from excess weight, Dr. Crisp points out.

How Will My Doctor Find Out What Kind Of Stone I Have

Try to catch a stone in a strainer. The best way for your doctor to find out what kind of stone you have is to test the stone itself. If you know that you are passing a stone, try to catch it in a strainer.

Your doctor may ask for a urine sample or take blood to find out what caused your stone. You may need to collect your urine for a 24-hour period. These tests will help your doctor find ways for you to avoid stones in the future.

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How Your Pelvic Floor Impacts Stress Incontinence

Your pelvic floor is a muscle resting below all your pelvic organs. It stretches like a trampoline from one sitting bone to the other and from your tailbone to your pubic bone. Its what holds your organs in place, supporting them in the correct position so that theyre not all dangling loosely inside your abdominal cavity.

Since its a muscle, it contracts and relaxes. It can be strengthened or weakened. Most often, pelvic floor dysfunction arises from a weakening of this muscle.

Without the appropriate amount of support, the bladder sags within your abdomen and presses against other organs, or other organs press against it. This direct pressure on your bladder creates force and urgency.

Additionally, the pelvic floor muscle is responsible for tightening the sphincter in your urethra that closes off the flow of urine. A weaker pelvic floor muscle means your sphincter cant tighten enough to hold back the pressurized urine, especially when you sneeze, cough, laugh or otherwise jar your body . This is called stress incontinence.

Women are more likely to develop the condition because of childbirth. The natural birthing process is traumatic to the body, and all the necessary pushing leaves the pelvic floor muscle weakened, or in some cases, damaged.

However, women can work their pelvic floor muscles, effectively strengthening the pelvic floor muscle through Kegel exercises and even yoga .

Take The Signs Seriously

Pin on Menopause infographics

UTIs can happen at almost any age in women and at an elderly age in men. Researchers are still searching for the root cause. Until then, take preventative measures to reduce the chances of the condition. For people suspecting a UTI, seek help from a doctor. If the symptoms evolve into back pain, the kidneys are infected. At that point, get medical treatment immediately.

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Burning Sensation You May Have A Uti

A urinary tract infection or UTI happens in millions of Americans each year. A UTI can cause pain during urination and more commonly affects women. Several signs show the severity of the infection. These include intense back pain. Understanding whats happening during a UTI can help people get the right treatment right away.

Association Between Obesity And Types Of Incontinence

There was also a difference in the kind of incontinence reported by patients:

  • Stress incontinence: It is basically experiencing urinary leaks when you make intra abdominal pressure to laugh, cough, or lift weight. Most patients with overweight and obesity are affected by this type of incontinence, as noted in scientific studies.
  • Urge incontinence: It is not related to abdominal pressure, and patients report sudden and unexpected urge to urinate, not associated with any coughing, laughing, or lifting weight. Patients with obesity are not particularly affected by this type of incontinence.
  • Mixed incontinence: It is a type of incontinence that includes both stress and urge incontinence symptoms. Overweight and obese patients also suffer from this type.

By only looking at the trend, we can see that something is going on here. Obesity increases the risk of stress-predominant incontinence and not urge incontinence. Stress incontinence is triggered by abdominal pressure, where fat deposits are usually located. When obesity is extreme, the risk of urinary incontinence is very high.

In morbidly obese women who were about to undergo bariatric surgery , this symptom affected 60-70% of them. It was a prevalence of 28% stress incontinence, 4% urge incontinence, and 32% mixed incontinence. The association is clear, not only between obesity and incontinence but also regarding the type .

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Are There Any Treatments

Yes. Urine leakage can often be stopped or lessened after the doctor finds the cause. Some treatments that have helped other people include drugs, behavioral therapy, special exercises, biofeedback, electrical stimulation and surgery.

DRUGS: Several drugs are available for treating incontinence, depending on what is causing your problem. Some of these drugs, called bladder relaxants, prevent urine leakage by decreasing bladder contractions. Another type of drug helps some kinds of incontinence by strengthening muscle contractions at the outlet of the bladder. Estrogens also have been helpful for some women after menopause. A nasal spray that causes you to make less urine is also used for day and nighttime urine leakage .

BEHAVIORAL THERAPY: You can work with a specially trained therapist who will help you to control your urine leakage.

EXERCISE: You can learn to do special exercises to strengthen the muscles that prevent leakage of urine from the bladder.

BIOFEEDBACK: These techniques also help you to gain control over your bladder and to strengthen the sphincter muscle.

ELECTRICAL STIMULATION: This method can help you to strengthen your sphincter muscle and keep your bladder from contracting when you do not want this to happen.

What Is Ureteral Stent Placement

Loosing Weight To Help With Bladder Control

The urine formed in the kidney is carried to the bladder by a fine muscular tube called a ureter. The bladder then acts as a reservoir for the urine. However, sometimes the kidneys and ureter can become obstructed. This can be caused by a kidney stone, narrowing of the ureter or after an instrument has been inserted into the ureter or kidneys. This causes pressure to build up behind the kidney, causing the function of the kidneys to suffer. First designed in 1967, the ureteral stent, also known as a ureteric stent, is a thin, hollow tube. It is placed in the ureter to help urine pass from the kidneys to the bladder. This is often performed under a brief general anaesthetic via a telescope. A guidewire is inserted into the ureteric opening in the bladder and, using X-ray screening, is passed up into the kidney. They have both ends coiled to ensure they stay in place. Today, ureteral stents are inserted as an almost routine procedure in patients with ureteric obstruction. They can also be useful for many conditions such as hydronephrosis due to stone disease, pregnancy, UTIs and a malignant neoplasm. In general, they are considered safe and well-tolerated. However, there are different complications that may occur with short or long-term use of the stents.

Urinary incontinence and increased frequency in passing urine

-Blood in the urine

-A small amount of blood in the urine

-Risk of a stone forming around the stent

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Enlist The Help Of A Dietitian

As weve mentioned, these days, its difficult for the average person to determine whats good to eat and whats not. Which diet plans are healthy? Which one is right for you?

This is where guidance from a registered dietician can be invaluable. A dietician can assess your medical conditions, medical history, weight loss goals, and habits and then develop an eating plan thats tailored to your needs.

Ask your primary care physician for a referral.

Obesity And Incontinence Whats The Link

Incontinence is more common in men and women. According to one study based on surveys, only 13.9% of male respondents had incontinence. In contrast, 51.1% of women experienced this problem. That is why most studies about incontinence are focused on obese women. Males have similar body structures and similar risk factors, and the exact mechanisms that cause incontinence in obese women may potentially trigger the symptom in men .

A recent review gathered all the data about morbid obesity as a risk factor for urinary incontinence . The researchers found a close relationship between overweight and UI symptoms in obese women. The association was extremely tight, and they found a dose-response effect. In other words, as the weight increased, the prevalence of urinary incontinence was higher.

BMI is a reliable measure of obesity in the average population . This number is obtained by dividing the weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters. In overweight and obesity, the BMI measure reaches 25 or higher. According to studies, for every 5 kg/m2 increase in the BMI, the risk of incontinence increases by 20-70%. The link is so close that one study suggested obesity as the most critical risk factor .

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Take Care Of Your Skin

Staying comfortable can be one of the biggest challenges of excessive body weight and incontinence. Excessive fat tissue, limited mobility, and skinfolds all contribute to skin issues in overweight adults, and proactive management of skin health should be a priority.

Control Moisture

Keeping moisture off the skin is the first step to preventing unwanted skin irritation. Warm, moist environments that can be found between skinfolds provide an ideal environment for microorganism growth. A common condition, candida albicans, also known as yeast, can grow out of control in these dark moist environments, leading to uncomfortable skin irritation. To prevent moisture from forming, avoid tight clothing, cleanse regularly with the help of disposable wipes, and inspect skin daily.

Rash in Body Folds

Developing a rash in body folds, also known as Intertrigo, can also be an uncomfortable symptom of obesity-related incontinence. To help maintain healthy skin in these areas, use a zinc-oxide based barrier cream to help protect the skin folds from irritation.

Abdominal Fold

Common in adults with obesity, excess abdominal fat and skin can lead to an abdominal pannus, or an abdominal fold. A large abdominal fold can lead to limited mobility, create unwanted pressure injury, and cause friction and chafing. Ensuring that the pannus stays dry, clean, and protected with the use of cleansing sprays, wipes, and barrier creams can help maintain proper skin health and comfort.

Treatment For Pelvic Pain

The Effects of Hormones on Menopausal Urine Incontinence

Modalities used to relax tight muscles, restore joint mobility through the use of heat, massage and muscle re-education techniques.

Exercises Stretching and/or strengthening exercises can be performed to restore normal muscle length and tone as well as gain balanced muscle strength. Postural exercise and instruction will be used in your treatment. Following the exercise program at home is important.

Education very important ingredient in your success. Therefore, materials and resources are made available to you to improve your understanding of the condition and what can be done for it.

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Obesity Diabetes And Incontinence

Find out how obesity and diabetes are related to urinary incontinence and what you can do to help manage your weight, diet, and bladder control.

How can being overweight cause an overactive bladder? Get all the details about obesity, diabetes and bladder leaks.

A sensitive bladder isnât always an easy thing to figure out. It can be caused by many different conditions, and some risk factors just canât be avoided, like blood sugar levels, natural hormonal changes and muscle loss due to aging and menopause, or nerve damage during pregnancy or childbirth.

Excessive weight or obesity, on the other hand, is one factor that can be managed with the right knowledge and resources.

Find out how obesity and diabetes are related to urinary incontinence and what you can do to help manage your weight, your risk of diabetes, and the chances of weight worsening your bladder leaks.

Weight Loss May Reduce Incontinence

Study Shows Losing Weight Can Help Women Who Have Urinary Incontinence

Jan, 27, 2009 â For obese and overweight women, losing weight can dramatically reduce episodes of incontinence, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Study participants included 338 women, all overweight or obese, who leaked urine at least 10 times in a week. The women were recruited from Birmingham, Ala., and Providence, R.I.

Participants were randomly divided into two groups. One group was put on an intensive weight loss program that included diet, exercise, and behavior modification. The other group was given educational information about weight loss, healthy eating, and physical activity, but no hands-on support.

All participants received an educational booklet about urinary incontinence, behavioral techniques, and pelvic floor muscle exercises.

At six months, the women in the intensive weight loss program lost an average 8% of their body weight and reduced weekly urinary incontinence episodes by 47%. Women in the information-only group lost an average 1.6% of body weight and had 28% fewer episodes.

Women in the weight loss program reported feeling that incontinence was less of a problem compared to the other group. More were moderately to very satisfied with the change in their incontinence.

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Your Body On Stress Symptoms Of Adrenal Fatigue

Youre about to go for a job interview. Your body treats this as a perceived threat and triggers a powerful danger signal. This activates your HPA , a feedback loop between your brain and other organs such as the kidneys. Your hypothalamus is like the command center and its job is to send urgent Watch Out messages to your pituitary and Adrenal glands. Within femtoseconds, your fight or flight response kicks in. This preps you to defend yourself or flee. So you experience a rapid cascade of other stress responses:

  • Your adrenal glands quickly pump out adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol. Part of their job is to ensure that glucose is quickly dumped into your bloodstream to give you energy and focus to handle this emergency.
  • Breathing and heart rate speed up in order to pump oxygen and nutrients to your brain and to your muscles, which tense up at the ready, in case you have to sprint away.
  • Your mind and hearing zoom in on sensory information, but you could not focus easily to write a report or read a book.
  • Blood-clotting clotting ability is heightened in case you sustain an injury.
  • Perspiration increases to help prevent your body from becoming overheated if you have to make a quick getaway.
  • Your pupils dilate and let in more light to sharpen your focus for fighting or fleeing.
  • Obesity And Skin Issues

    Incontinence During Peri-Menopause & Menopause

    1. Dry Skin skin can become incredibly dry due to poor circulation, poor hygiene, or lack of moisturizing.

    2. Excessive Moisture this can be an issue due to sweating.

    3. Weight and Pressure due to their weight they may develop pressure ulcers between skinfolds or on extremities, or pressure from tight spaces on skin a lack of movement, or from acid from urine and faeces due to incontinence.

    4. Cellulitis a bacterial skin infection can occur due to poor hygiene.

    5. Other related Health Issues can cause skin problems:

    • diabetes if poorly controlled can cause skin breakdowns or diabetic foot ulcers
    • less blood flow in areas with heavy deposits of fat
    • venous insufficiency/poor circulation to limbs
    • a lack of mobility can put skin at risk
    • the PH of their skin is usually higher9

    TENA is the first continence products to be endorsed by the Skin Health Alliance.

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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.

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