Measures and lifestyle changes to help treat incontinence
In England, The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends initially treating incontinence with a programme of conservative measures and lifestyle changes. These can be really effective for most types of incontinence:
- Bladder training helps to teach the bladder to 'hold on'. It takes time and patience but has good results, reducing urgency and frequency
- Pelvic floor exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and can improve symptoms of stress and urge type incontinence. The exercises need to be done several times a day and it usually takes a couple of months before an improvement is seen. Referral to a specialist continence physiotherapist (known as a urotherapist) may be needed if the pelvic floor muscles are particularly weak
- It is important to learn good toileting techniques, like sitting on the toilet properly with your feet on the floor or supported and to allow adequate time to empty the bladder. Double voiding can help to promote better bladder emptying – after urinating, walk around the bathroom, then sit on the toilet again, which will often result in a second void
