Running to the men's room?

For the 5 million men in the United States struggling with urinary incontinence, that sudden urge to go can tell you something about your pelvic floor function. If you’re having a hard time controlling your urine, you’re not alone.

But there’s hope.

“Most urinary changes, whether that be urinary incontinence, retention or decreased control of urine stream, can be improved or resolved with pelvic floor rehabilitation or other noninvasive methods such as medications,” said Caitlyn O’Sullivan, DPT, a pelvic health therapist with Baptist Rehabilitation.

The first step to treatment is knowing the cause.

Leaking with everyday activity?

Stress incontinence occurs with activities that increase abdominal pressure. If severe enough, it can happen with simple actions such as bending or coughing/sneezing. This is due to weakness of the bladder neck, which maintains the seal of urine while you move, and pelvic floor muscles. Behavior modification, weight loss and pelvic floor rehab can help improve and resolve these symptoms.

Got the urge to purge?

An overactive bladder can cause frequent urination and a sudden, uncontrollable urge to go. Bladder spasms resulting from many factors including nerve dysfunction can also cause this condition. Primary treatments for overactive bladder are behavioral modifications, pelvic floor rehabilitation and medications.

Injury or chronic condition?

These issues can damage the nerves and muscle function that help signal the need to urinate, decreasing your ability to sense when your bladder is full. The result is frequent urination and leaking. Treatments include pelvic floor rehab, electrical stimulation of bladder nerves and urinary catheterization.

Time for a prostate exam?

An enlarged prostate can block the flow of urine, causing leakage, post-urination dribbling, urgency, retention or slowed/weak stream. Treatments for prostate cancer such as surgery and radiation can also affect bladder function. Radiation damage to nerves or muscles, and prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate) may result in pelvic floor dysfunction. However, men with post-prostatectomy incontinence would benefit from pelvic floor rehab. Pelvic floor rehab before prostatectomy (also known as “prehab”) can improve bladder function and speed of recovery after the procedure.

“Patients often are embarrassed to talk to their physician about urinary incontinence or frequency. However, the sooner it's identified, and pelvic floor rehab is started, the better the long-term outcomes,” said O’Sullivan.