Is Your Bladder Running Your Life?

t's not a topic you hear discussed a lot, but one in four mature women can't run, laugh, cough, sneeze or exercise without involuntarily leaking urine. Known as Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI), the condition is impacting younger and younger women and is most common in those who've had children.

The physical stresses of pregnancy and childbirth (especially prolonged pushing during vaginal deliveries) often stretch the pelvic-floor muscles that support a woman's bladder, urethra and the muscles that control urination. Once they're weakened, full bladder control is lost.

Surgery to repair and tighten the pelvic-floor muscles has been performed for decades. The good news is that treatments for SUI are steadily improving. New medications are being developed. There's also an outpatient procedure that inserts a plastic-like mesh ribbon below the urethra to strengthen the muscles.

Another new outpatient procedure involves placing a special gel onto the sides of the urethra. There it works by providing a tighter seal, somewhat like putting a new washer into a leaking faucet. Other treatments for SUI include Kegel exercises, electrical stimulation and biofeedback to tone weakened muscles.