Involuntary Leaking: There’s Help

Involuntary leaking is a serious problem but many are too embarrassed to talk about it.

Involuntary leaking isn’t just a problem for young kids.

People of all ages suffer from the loss of bladder control.

But as it turns out, there are things you can do that don’t involve surgery or medicine.

Jenna Pederson has a unique job.
 
“I have an interesting specialty.  I treat bladder, bowl, and pelvic floor dysfunctions,” says Essentia Health Physical Therapist, Jenna Pederson.
 
It can be an embarrassing problem to have, and it’s not just kids wetting the bed.

People of all ages suffer from uncontrollable bladders.
 
“I think people have a hard time talking about these topics because it’s a pretty sensitive thing but I treat a lot of patients.  I treat about 15 to 20 patients a week,” says Pederson.
 
Pederson deals with kids all the way to 100-year-old patients, and for most of them therapy does the trick.
 
“I can teach them how to contract, I can teach them how to relax, I can teach them how to improve that coordination to target what their problem is,” says Pederson.
 
Pederson has even helped women following pregnancies.

Involuntary leaking is something many post-partum women have come to accept as normal.

But by retraining the pelvic floor muscles, that doesn’t have to be the case.
 
“Our pelvic floor muscles are our only involuntary way of communicating with our mind,” says Pederson.
 
As for children, Pederson says there is still a difference between wetting the bed and a bigger issue at hand.
 
“If the child doesn’t want to go to a sleepover or is afraid to use the bathroom at school having leaking episodes at school that’s a red flag,” says Pederson.

While the therapy has proven to work for people of all ages surgery is another option, which involves a surgical sling to lift the bladder.

But Pederson encourages people to consider therapy before turning to surgery or pharmaceuticals.