Recent Guidelines for Incontinence Treatment: American College of Physicians

Just this past week the American College of Physicians published a Clinical Guideline for Physicians in an effort to provide clinical recommendations on the nonsurgical management of urinary incontinence in women.   This publication recommends that pelvic floor muscle re-education with bladder training is recommended as the first treatment option in women with stress incontinence, urge incontinence or a combination of both (mixed incontinence).

The staff at Phoenix Physical Therapy, PLC is thrilled to see such a recommendation in the professional literature!  We have known for years that this treatment option, when performed correctly, will make a difference in the quality of a woman’s life.  Our use of pelvic floor muscle retraining with biofeedback along with behavioral modifications empowers women to get their incontinence symptoms under control, allowing them restored self-confidence and resumption of the activities they previously enjoyed, without worry of leaking.  Our tag line “no surgery, no drugs, just you” is implied in the new Clinical Guidelines just published.

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine and can occur in approximately 25% of young women aged 14 to 21 years, 44-57% in women ages 40-60 and 75% in women over 75 years according to some of the research reported.  Another 6% of nursing home admissions is attributed to incontinence, accounting for $3 billion in medical spending. These numbers can vary greatly as other research indicates that women often will not report these symptoms to their physicians for a variety of reasons.  The degree of symptoms, when reported can vary from mild to debilitating and represent almost $20 billion spend on medical management of the symptoms.

Phoenix Physical Therapy is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding treatment.  We are here to help!  Incontinence is not a normal part of aging and is not something you need to live with.  Call us, email us or stop by!  We would be honored to be a part of your medical care.  “No surgery, no drugs, just you”.

Jane