Overactive bladder

Overactive bladder refers to a bladder that is unhappy, irritated or intolerant to stretch, resulting in higher than normal urinary urge and frequency. This may feel like a sudden, strong, irrepressible urge to urinate, or a feeling of needing to go to the toilet often and for small amounts of urine (wee).

Overactive bladder can have many causes or contributing factors. Something outside of the bladder can be pressing on the bladder and causing irritation (e.g. uterine fibroids or chronic constipation). The bladder may have become intolerant to stretch due to poor bladder habits (e.g. going to the toilet often for ‘just in case’ wees). The bladder may be irritated by the urine inside the bladder – possibly due to the urine being too concentrated due to dehydration, or due to the presence of bladder irritants such as artificial sweeteners, caffeine or alcohol. The bladder lining may be impaired, resulting in the balder wall being irritated by even normal urine due to the lack of the normal protective barrier. The bladder may be filling beautifully but not emptying fully, leaving too much wee behind and increasing the risk of a urinary tract infection as well as contributing to increased frequency as the bladder is left partially full. These factors may occur in isolation, or in combination, making overactive bladder quite the riddle!

Treatment of overactive bladder requires thorough assessment to allow identification of all of the factors contributing to your case. This usually involves a detailed history, as well as a pelvic floor examination and completion of a sensation related bladder diary to give us a full picture of your bladder function. You may also need a bladder scan if we are concerned about your bladders filling and emptying abilities, but we will discuss this with you and your doctor if required.

Once we have determined what is contributing to your overactive bladder, we can implement appropriate treatments that address these contributing factors. This may involve bladder re-training, urge suppression techniques, modifications to your fluid intake, elimination of bladder irritants and strategies to calm the bladder such as tibial nerve TENS.

If your bladder is ruling your life and you’d like your freedom back then book in with our specially trained Women’s Health Physiotherapy clinician today.