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Do you  feel like you spend a lot of time trying to find and get to a bathroom? Have you found you have a strong urge to urinate but when you get there, you don’t void much? Some call this overactive bladder. Doctors call it interstitial cystitis. I call it annoying and frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be. Have you considered bladder retraining

So what exactly is bladder retraining? It is a pattern of behavior that helps you establish a urination pattern that is more normal. Often times when you have the urge to go, you head straight to the bathroom. This alleviates the feeling of needing to go. But this is a problem if your bladder isn’t actually full. When this pattern continues, your body becomes accustom to an unusually frequent urination schedule. Urges become more intense when the bladder does not need to be emptied. Over time, a problem pattern of urges and frequent bathroom breaks can occur.

The goal of bladder retraining is to create and maintain a more normal urination schedule. You will begin by scheduling urination at specific times. This means you will ignore urges that intrude between your set bathroom breaks. You might have to begin with many breaks but as you progress, the time between breaks can be extended. This teaches the bladder to respond less urgently when it is not full and helps increase the amount of urine the bladder can hold. As the bladder is retrained, your urges will decrease.

Before beginning any type of retraining program, it is important to discuss your issues with your doctor. True physical issues must be addressed or you could make them worse. If your doctor feels you are a candidate for bladder retraining he/she will develop a program for you. If your urges are compounded by a stressed pelvic floor, your doctor might suggest a biofeedback unit that will help you learn to relax those muscles. There are many types of machines available but the most common is the U-Control.

Whether you need the help of a biofeedback machine or not, your first step will be to create a bladder diary. Record how often you go to the bathroom and how much urine is expelled. Once you have this diary, you can begin to develop a schedule for urination throughout the day. Your first schedule should be one that is slightly longer than your typical needs. Extend your breaks by 10-15 minutes. Maintain this schedule for about 4 weeks. This gives you time to really be successful and gives your bladder time to adjust. Continue to extend your breaks and don’t give up. It can take 3-4 months for a typical person to successfully retrain their bladder

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A surprising survey has found that the number of adults dealing with incontinence has risen over the past few years.  Specifically, 53 % of women over age 20 reported symptoms of incontinence such as involuntary leakage of urine during the previous 12 months. This is number has increased from less than 50% in 2001.

For women, incontinence is very common. This is because childbirth, especially a vaginal birth, is one of the biggest risk factors for developing stress incontinence. Weight gain, hormonal changes and chronic health conditions can also weaken pelvic floor muscles resulting in urine leakage.
Fortunately there are more treatments than ever before to help manage and even reverse mild to moderate incontinence. The treatments can range from simple home exercises, to biofeedback therapy, physical therapy, drug treatment and even surgery. It is important to note that dealing with incontinence is no longer simply an issue of which adult diaper is best. Effective treatments are available and many are inexpensive and allow you to use them in the comfort of your own home.

It is always best to visit your doctor to discuss issues of incontinence. There are rare occasions when urine leakage can be the result of serious health issues. Luckily, most incontinence is caused by weakened pelvic floor muscles.  The easiest way to begin building muscle strength is to perform Kegel exercises.
Kegels are pelvic floor contractions. They use the muscles of the pelvic floor. Contract and hold for a ten count before releasing the contraction. Rest for a ten count and repeat. This must be done in sets of 8 or more several times a day to see results. Remember, these are muscle strengthening exercises. Training muscles takes time as any gym enthusiast will tell you. Be patient and keep working.

If you find that it is difficult to stay motivated, vaginal weights might help. These small ceramic weights are inserted into the vaginal canal like a tampon. They provide resistance for your contractions as well as weight to help the muscles get stronger faster. There are 4 different weights to provide you with feedback and show your progress. Some women find it helpful to know that even before they can tell a difference in their urine leakage, that the muscles are getting stronger.

Women don’t have to suffer with urinary incontinence. It is an embarrassing condition but ignoring it will only make it worse. Take time out for your health and start your Kegels today.

The emWave 2 works on the principle of coherence which will help you improve physical and psychological harmony.  Practicing with the unit teaches you to control your breathing while focusing on positive emotions which will result in greater heart rhythm coherence. This new machine uses a finger or ear sensor and can be taken anywhere. The sensors will read your baseline heart rhythm and show the results on a simple LED display. The unit quickly generates a unique breathing pattern to bring your heart rhythm measurement into coherence.  Once you have concluded your session, the data is recorded for later download onto your computer.

The emWave 2 will alls interface with your laptop or desktop computer. Saved portable sessions can be downloaded into the desktop application.  A simple display will show the details about your previous sessions.  You can view individual sessions or see your history which can help you monitor your progress over time. The emWave 2 can also be used in real time using the challenging levels included with the desktop software.  Your coherence levels will be displayed on the computer screen as you move through your session.  You will be able to move from the beginner levels to the advanced levels all the while being challenged and entertained.  All the practice will help you to keep your body and mind in harmony while reducing your feelings of stress.

The emWave 2 is exactly the right tool at the right time. The combination of portability and connectivity makes the unit more versatile than previous versions. Also the real time data added to the storage capability is a wonderful enhancement. Session data allows you to track your progress and view your history.  You can even print your data to share with your doctor or other heath professional. There will be no more excuses with the emWave 2; it will always be ready to help you feel your best.

The Peritron measures the strength of a contraction by measuring the change of air pressure in the sensor. This measurement is transferred via a flexible tube to the screen display. During a contraction the strength value is updated every .6 seconds. The display can also recall the duration of the contraction as well as the average and peak values. Using the successive readings from the display, a pressure profile curve can be outlined very quickly.  Often users find this type of graphical representation useful in understanding the level of their contractions.

When performing pelvic floor contractions, or Kegels, many women mistakenly believe that many short quick contractions will help build muscle strength.  In actuality, a strong, sustained contraction is more effective than a short weak one. Poor quality contractions will have widely variant average and peak readings while a strong and sustained contraction will have similar average and peak values.

For some, a graph showing the simple strength of a contraction at a given moment is more helpful. The Peritron can display can be changed to a bar graph that shows the feedback as a stronger or weaker contraction. The fewer the bars, the weaker the contraction. The unit is so sensitive that it can register the muscle cells firing before it is possible to feel the contraction begin. This sensitivity is extremely encouraging for patients who are struggling with pelvic floor re-training.

For the clinical setting the sensors can be sterilized and used with different patients. In addition, the size of the sensor and the long pressure responsive section allows pelvic floor measurements in up to 95% of all men and women. As the patients use the machine they will see their strength increasing over time.

The Peritron is a great tool for documenting the strengthening of the pelvic floor muscles. The evidence of stronger contractions is right there on a screen as well as the previous readings that will show you that over time you are progressing. The machine can assist in the treatment of both urinary and fecal incontinence with the sensors available. In addition, the sensors are compatible with other more economical home trainers so your patient can benefit from many options in their treatment.

Does a hysterectomy or bladder sling really have to be the first line of treatment for incontinence? These procedures are painful and cause lasting damage to your body. Worse, there is no guarantee that your incontinence will be fully cured when you are recovered. If you don’t choose surgery, are you sentenced to a life of accidents and adult diapers? The answer is no. There are options. If you are willing to put some effort into your treatment, it is possible to cure urinary incontinence without medication, surgery or the need for diapers.

It is probably a good idea to meet with your doctor to determine what type of urinary incontinence you are suffering from. Most women are struggling with stress incontinence. Weak pelvic floor muscles can allow urine to leak out when you don’t want it to. To cure stress incontinence, you need to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. For some, simply performing Kegel contractions will provide enough of a workout to cure their condition. Most, however, will need a little more help. There are many options available to women, from clinical grade biofeedback units, to simple home machines.

One of the best tools available for pelvic floor muscle re-training is vaginal weights. These small ceramic weights are inserted into the vagina and held in place during your Kegel contractions. They help you isolate the pelvic floor muscles and add resistance to your contraction. Studies have shown that resistance training builds muscles faster than training alone.

You can have this valuable tool for less than $100. Compared to a lifetime of diapers or a costly surgery, this is an incredible deal. In addition, these weights are completely natural and work with the power of your own body. And, there are hidden benefits as well. When you have strong pelvic floor muscles, you will have more and better orgasms. Imagine, curing your incontinence getting better sex. It seems like a no brainer to me.

How can it be that a treatment so effective is not universally utilized in the treatment of urinary incontinence? The first reason is that the treatment involves the use of a U-Control EMG machine.  This biofeedback unit measures the strength of a muscle’s contractions and provides feedback to the user.  Many in the medical field prefer to first try pharmaceutical methods before resulting to “alternative treatments” such as a U-control for Incontinence.  Another reason is that often times these treatments are not covered by insurance.  Even if this is the case, the purchase of a $400 biofeedback machine that will cure incontinence is surely more economical than months or years of expensive drug therapy or even surgery.

So how can the U-Control Muscle Monitor help with incontinence?  Up to 80% of all urinary incontinence is caused by weakened or hyper stressed muscles of the pelvic floor.  Weakened muscles result in stress incontinence, or the involuntary leakage of urine.  Stressed or tight muscles of the pelvic floor often make it difficult to fully empty the bladder resulting in urge incontinence.  Often times urge in continence is treated with drugs or other medical procedures.  However, a larger portion of patients have better results using biofeedback training like the U-Control Muscle Monitor.

So, how does it actually work? The U-Control assists the patient in the re-training of the pelvic floor muscles.  This can involve strengthening, using contractions to build up the muscles, or learning to relax those same muscles. Studies have shown that patients who have a biofeedback machine for home use are more likely to practice and will see results in as little as 4 weeks.  Studies have also shown that in addition to the obvious physical changes exercising will product, there is also a measurable psychological effect. When patients feel that they are in control of their bladder, feelings of fear and inadequacy will be reduced. With such impressive results it seems outrageous that this treatment would not be the first course of action to cure urinary incontinence.

In a clinical setting both electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG) have been employed by therapists to train and retrain people to manage their own health. The biofeedback machine acts as extra sense that allows you to understand the changes that are going on in your body.  Most often the changes will be registered by some type of audio or visual signal. A therapist will then guide you and teach you relaxation techniques and specialized muscle movements that will allow you to change the response in your body.  You will learn to relax muscles and become aware of sensations that you previously could not detect or simply ignored. For muscle retraining, you will be able to see on the machine that muscles are moving even though you may not be able to detect the movement.

With advances in technology, you no longer have to go into a clinic to get these sensitive readings.  Portable machines have been developed that are as sensitive as clinical grade equipment and provide sufficient feedback for you to use at home.  The Myotrac Home Trainer is a portable EMG monitor.  This machine is very helpful for people suffering from headaches, back and neck pain, teeth grinding, irritable bowl syndrome.  It can also be used as part of a successful physical therapy program. The Myotrac is relatively inexpensive and uses disposable electrodes so there is no need to visit a doctor’s office. Other machines have been developed to teach therapeutic breathing techniques guided relaxation. The best part is these machines will cause you no harm but have the potential to eliminate pain, stress and even reduce medications.  But remember, biofeedback therapy can work wonders, but it is not recommended to treat any disease or replace any medication.  It should be used as a secondary tool to help you achieve the best health possible.

Incredibly, Heartmath has done this with the release of their new program emWave Desktop.  This is a computer program that works on both Mac and PC platforms, that alone is pretty amazing.  The software gives you a window into how your emotions and even your thoughts can affect your heart and nervous system.  Complex graphics and fun games are employed to help you practice techniques that will allow you to achieve coherence.

Coherence is a term used to describe the pattern of your heart rhythms.
These rhythms can be plotted as a wave.  If there is an irregular or jagged pattern this is a sign of stress. As you move to a more positive, relaxed emotional state, the heart rhythms will smooth out becoming more wave-like, and less jagged.  This is the coherent state.  A high level of coherence sends a message to the brain to improve physical well being by easing all bodily systems in to a more harmonic balance.  From your physical coordination to your hormonal state, everything will function more smoothly.

Using the emWave Desktop system is easy.  Simply put your finger in the sensor and give the program a moment to measure your level of coherence.  The screen will display your coherence level and plot the changes in real time.  There are several levels to choose from.  The first level teaches you how to achieve coherence using breathing and guided meditation.  When you feel comfortable with the method of relaxation there are many options to choose for practice.  Activities include filling a pot of gold and the end of a rainbow or walking down a path.  Higher coherence levels will allow you to progress faster in level you have chosen.

Over time you practice the techniques, and your overall level of coherence will improve.  This will impact you in all areas of your life.  You will experience more feelings of well being and less stress.  You will be able to manage yourself and your emotional state and live a fuller life.

Kegels are important for strengthening your pelvic floor.  When these muscles are weak, you may experience urinary incontinence, decrease of sexual sensation and in severe cases, even a prolapsed bladder or uterus.  Often times these muscles are weakened by childbirth, weight gain or simply due to aging.  But if you start Kegel exercises before your muscles are weakened, you are ahead of the curve.   OK, so Kegels will help keep the muscles of the pelvic floor strong.  So how can we know that we are doing them correctly?

First you have to find the right muscles.  A simple way to feel the right area is to stop the flow of urine while you are going to the bathroom.  These are the muscles you want to work.  Be aware that you are focusing on the vaginal area and not the rectal muscles.  You can also insert your finger into your vaginal canal and squeeze.  Now you can feel both the internal and external sensation of the muscles working.  This is a basic Kegel contraction. So we are ready for our workout.  It is best not to perform these exercises while you are urinating as this can cause the bladder to weaken or not empty fully.  Make sure you empty your bladder before beginning.

A common misconception about Kegel contractions is that you just have to contract and release several times.  While this will move the pelvic floor muscles, it will not strengthen them.  To build those muscles you need to contract and hold for 10 seconds before releasing the contraction.  Rest for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.  You should try to complete 3 sets of 10 contractions a day. The pelvic floor muscles are no different from any others.  It takes time and work to build their strength.  Don’t get discouraged.  It may be difficult to complete 10 repetitions if your muscles are really weak.  Keep your goal in mind and do your best.  Just like a regular gym, it can take 6-8 weeks for you to see results, but when you do you will be glad you put in the effort.

EMG biofeedback therapy helps women to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles by visual and auditory feedback.  This method is especially helpful for women who have nerve damage from surgery or childbirth.  But this therapy is also appropriate for men who may have weakened muscles from prostate surgery or other injury.  The U-Control Home Continence Trainer is perfect for both men and women.  An additional benefit of this EMG machine is that it can also teach relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles.  Many biofeedback machines help to strengthen, but the U-Control is unique in that you get relaxation training and strengthening in one device.

Why would one need both of these options?  While many people understand the causes of urinary incontinence, many are surprised to find that fecal incontinence isn’t always caused by weakened muscles.  When one has trouble relaxing the sphincter muscle, it can cause constipation.  Constipation is defined as harder than normal stools that will not pass easily through the anal opening.  These hard stools lodge in the rectal canal and can allow more watery stool to escape.  The U-Control can help retrain these muscles to relax and return more voluntary control to the muscle.

So, how does it work?  If you are female, you use a vaginal sensor for urinary incontinence.  If you are male or have fecal incontinence you use an anal sensor.  These sensors are very inexpensive and can be purchased by the individuals using the U-Control.  This makes the unit perfect for home or clinical use.  The sensor is inserted into the appropriate opening and the user can then see readings on the machine about the tension in the muscles.

Treating incontinence with biofeedback is incredibly easy.  The one drawback in relation to other treatments is the time commitment.  Biofeedback requires daily practice over the course of several weeks.  In severe cases, it can take 6-8 weeks to see results.