By Holly Schlangen Rice, OTR/L, CLT, Ascend Rehabilitation
Did you know occupational therapy can help incontinence?
If you are experiencing bladder leakage, you are not alone. And despite what you might think, women are not the only ones; men experience urinary incontinence too.
Some people experience leakage when they stand up, cough, sneeze, or laugh – this is considered stress incontinence. Others experience urine leakage when they are walking to the toilet – which is called urgency incontinence. Most of the clients we see at Ascend Rehabilitation experience both stress and urgency urinary incontinence.
Lucky for you, or a loved one, Ascend Rehab has a continent improvement program and clinicians with years of training in how to help people that are experiencing bladder leakage.
There are specific strengthening exercises that address the weakness of the bladder muscles, and these exercises are simple and effective. Even if you have had some level of leakage for many years, there is hope.
There is also education that is provided to help with life habits, that can improve control and reduce leakage. Patients have stated that these life strategies have helped them as much as the strengthening has.
In addition, after 30 days of exercise and life habit changes, therapeutic modalities such as electrical stimulation can be added to help facilitate muscle strength improvements.
To give you a sense of what my clients have said about this program, here are some testimonials:
“Before I did this program, right after communion, I used to have to leave, but I am now able to hold it. And when eating at Redstone, the bathroom is far away and I used to be nervous I would not make it, but now I feel I have the tools to be less worried about it and make it just fine. This is the first time (with OT care) that anyone has addressed my bladder issues, no doctors or therapists before have even mentioned that there is something that could be done.”
“I stopped wearing high absorbency pads – which I used to change up to 8x/day. I now can go with a light pad or with only a panty. I am less afraid of leaving home.”
“I didn’t know what normal could feel like again.”
“I was able to go shopping and drive about 20 minutes home and make it to the bathroom without leakage.”
“I am able to use my panties again – I don’t have to wear those Depends anymore.”
“I feel I have made good progress. I feel more in control. I have not had any accidents with my bowel for the past month; and I am not rushing to the toilet to urinate. I am able to take my time getting to the toilet at night. Before I was working against myself, and now I know what to do, to better control it.”
“I no longer need to toilet map when I am in the community. I am more confident and no longer need to carry a 2nd pair of clothing; I am wearing panties verses Depends. I feel more feminine and my skin is better; I am doing less laundry – not needing to change clothes or linen. When leaving the apartment, needing to use the bathroom is no longer the primary concern – I now feel confident out in the community. I no longer need to rush, so I am safer walking.”
Ascend Rehab is a division of Saint Therese senior living communities.
Holly Schlangen Rice, OTR/L, CLT, with Ascend Rehabilitation, has been with Ascend Rehab since 2010.