stress incontinence urinary incontinence treatment Chinese herbal medicine acupuncture clinic Sydney Bondi Junction stress incontinence urinary incontinence treatment Chinese herbal medicine acupuncture clinic Sydney Bondi Junction stress incontinence urinary incontinence treatment Chinese herbal medicine acupuncture clinic Sydney Bondi Junction stress incontinence urinary incontinence treatment Chinese herbal medicine acupuncture clinic Sydney Bondi Junction stress incontinence urinary incontinence treatment Chinese herbal medicine acupuncture clinic Sydney Bondi Junction stress incontinence urinary incontinence treatment Chinese herbal medicine acupuncture clinic Sydney Bondi Junction
Specialist in Acupuncture & Chinese medicine since 2000
Wonder Life Consultation Lounge. We love to hear your problems.
About Urinary
Incontinence
(functional)
Sydney, Bondi Junction
PH 02 9386 1018
Introduction
Urinary incontinence is a common and yet,
embarrassing health problem which people avoid talking about to their
health practitioners. It affects mostly women and it has been estimated
that 25 millions Americans and 800, 000 Australians may be suffering
from this condition. Urinary incontinence can affect women in their
young age such as after birth to menopausal and elderly women.
From an integrative Chinese medicine perspective, functional urinary
incontinence is a sign of premature aging and early degeneration. This
condition should be taken seriously and treated accordingly.
Definition
Unable to control the voiding of urine
without structural abnormalities
stress incontinence: urine loss or leakage during straining or
physical activities such as laughing, coughing or exercise
urge incontinence: urine loss or leakage occur after experiencing
urgency before reaching the toilet
mixed incontinence: combination of both stress and urge
incontinence
overflow incontinence: urine loss occur when the bladder is full
and failed to contract properly
total incontinence: constant loss of urine
Accompanying signs
& symptoms
urine loss during exercise, coughing,
abdominal straining, laughing, bowel motion or even during sex, frequent
urination without excessive fluid intake, wake to go to the toilet
during the night, weak voiding or small quantity of voiding
Other accompanying signs and symptoms: swollen knees and ankles,
soreness in the lower back, poor memory and forgetfulness, fatigue and
low energy, low libido, early greying of hair
Possible Causes
History of many child birth
History of difficult, troubled or long child birth
Excessive physical exhaustion
Excessive sexual activities
History of other medical conditions such as stroke
History of seizures or epilepsy
History of poor diet and lifestyle
History of prostate problems
Physiological
Mechanisms
Functional urinary incontinence is a
complicated condition as a normal continence function or activity
involves the co-ordination of multiple mechanisms and systems in the
body. Two key mechanisms are required: neural and hormonal mechanisms
for filling and detecting and acting mechanism for voiding/emptying of
bladder.
Neural and hormonal mechanisms are nerves and hormones which determine
the rate and detect the filling of bladder. Signals are sent to the
brain informing about voiding. Once the brain is informed, then, it
instruct the body to void at appropriate time and place.
From integrative Chinese medicine perspective, functional urinary
incontinence often occur when one of the mechanisms become
dysfunctional, overactive or under-active. Excessive use of diuretic
substances such as coffee, tea or certain medication cause an imbalance
in nerve activities and hormonal secretion. This may result in fast
filling of bladder and frequent urination. Cumulative use of caffeine
causes adrenal fatigue, physical exhaustion and thus urinary
incontinence.
Injuries and strains of the pelvic floor muscles and associated nerves
during child birth result in weakening of the muscular structure and
induce muscular fatigue. If this weakening and fatigue fail to recover,
it often result in functional urinary incontinence.
Treatment
Modalities
Specialist Acupuncture for 12 sessions. 2 sessions per week for the first 3 weeks.
Chinese herbal treatment may be required.
Mechanism of
action of the herbs used
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine treats the
condition by doing the following:
Regulating neural activities for urine control
Strengthen the muscles and reduce muscle fatigue, facilitating muscular recovery of pelvic
floor muscles from past injuries or straining such as childbirth
Regulating hormonal mechanisms which associated with bladder control and
voiding
Promoting rejuvenation and anti aging
Regulating the hormones relating to the filling of bladder
Health Advice
Reducing the intake of caffeine and
cigarette smoking
Eat a balance diet
Establishing a regular eating habit
Encouraging moderate, regular and outdoor exercises
References
Longman
concise medical dictionary, 1994
Chinese-English Manual of Common-Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Ou Ming, 1995
