Blog

Incontinence and Men's Health

When we think about urinary and fecal incontinence, often we think of someone who has given birth and is dealing with incontinence postpartum. The reality is that anyone can be affected by bowel or bladder incontinence and around 50% of men over 65 are dealing with urinary incontinence and 3-8% of men over 60 are dealing with fecal incontinence.  Incontinence is defined as any unwanted leakage of any amount of urine, fecal matter, gas, or diarrhea. There are several types of incontinence including stress urinary incontinence, urge urinary incontinence, mixed urinary incontinence, and fecal incontinence. Urgency and frequency of bowel and/or bladder are also common complaints among men.

Incontinence affects many aspects of a person’s life, their mental health, their physical health, and their wallet. Incontinence is linked to a higher incidence of depression and anxiety. it can also lead to an increased incidence of UTIs. Products that help with Incontinence can cost over $100 a month.

Urinary incontinence in men often occurs after treatment for prostate cancer. When the prostate is removed the tissue that aids incontinence is also removed making it difficult to hold back urine. Fecal incontinence can be caused by a variety of things including colorectal cancer, diet, and nerve dysfunction.

Incontinence is often attributed to “old age” and is thought to be something you just have to deal with. Neither is true and incontinence is often easily treatable by a pelvic floor physical therapist. Luckily the muscles of the pelvic floor also aid incontinence. Strengthening and retraining of the pelvic floor muscles can decrease urinary incontinence in men. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles alone isn’t always the best way to address incontinence. The treatment approach includes bladder and/or bowel retraining, managing fluid intake and diet, managing constipation, increasing joint mobility in the pelvis, spine, and hips, strengthening of muscles around the hips and spine, and nerve mobility. Pelvic floor physical therapists receive specialized training to treat men with urinary and fecal incontinence and work with their clients to devise an individualized treatment plan to address concerns.