Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common medical condition which causes the person to have a strong and frequent urge to urinate, usually multiple times per day and night. Sometimes, this condition also involves the loss of bladder control (incontinence). OAB can be quite disruptive to one’s daily life, as well as negatively impacting their mental health. Frequent trips to the bathroom can significantly interfere with your daily routine and cause sleep deprivation, while bladder incontinence can be psychologically distressing.
Fortunately, there are many effective and noninvasive treatment options for OAB. In addition, one can make many lifestyle changes to treat OAB and reduce its symptoms.
An overactive bladder can get in the way of your work, social life, and sleep. For people suffering from OAB symptoms, it is essential to learn more about this condition and how to manage it.
What is an overactive bladder (OAB)?
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a set of symptoms that causes the bladder to contract frequently, resulting in the frequent urge and need to urinate, both during the day and night (nocturia). Often, people who suffer from OAB also experience urinary leaking or incontinence.
OAB often occurs in people aged 65 years and older. Furthermore, women may experience OAB at a younger age, usually around 45 years old. Some of the common risk factors associated with OAB include obesity, abdominal trauma, diabetes, urinary tract infections, and weakened pelvic floor muscles, often due to childbearing or age.
What are the symptoms of an overactive bladder?
If you have intense, frequent, and unusual urges to urinate, which are negatively impacting your quality of life, it is essential to consult your doctor and get evaluated for OAB.
People with OAB usually experience symptoms such as the following:
- Sudden, strong urge to urinate
- Making frequent trips to the bathroom during the day
- Waking up at night to go to the bathroom
- Incontinence symptoms (leaking and accidents)
Your doctor can diagnose OAB by evaluating your symptoms and doing a physical examination, as well as running lab tests on your urine.
What causes an overactive bladder?
OAB is usually caused by medical conditions or injuries that affect the function of the detrusor muscle when the nerve signals between the bladder and brain do not function properly. Some of the most common causes of OAB include the following:
- Abdominal trauma
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Nerve damage
- Prior bladder or abdominal surgery
- Certain medications
- Alcohol and caffeine intake
- Urinary tract infection
- Being overweight
- Decrease in estrogen levels due to menopause
You can learn more about the potential causes of OAB here.
Are you concerned about your symptoms?
Find out how this 2-minute quiz can help you gain awareness of your symptoms.
Are you concerned about your symptoms?
Find out how this 2-minute quiz can help you gain awareness of your symptoms.
What are treatments for overactive bladder?
At Aniyah Care, we offer detailed assessments to determine the causes of OAB and holistic, natural, and non-invasive treatments to help you get back to what matters most in life. It is essential to seek treatment for your OAB symptoms since they typically do not resolve on their own. Treatments for OAB include the following:
- Freedom+™ (FMS) Functional Magnetic Stimulation: This treatment uses innovative Freedom+ technology for OAB to stimulate the pudendal nerve and detrusor muscle, strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. This effective treatment is designed to target the root causes of incontinence, significantly improving OAB symptoms.
- Biofeedback Therapy for Overactive Bladder: This practical and non-invasive treatment approach aims to help you gain better control of your bladder and pelvic floor muscles using feedback about their function. Using biofeedback, you can learn how to naturally strengthen the muscles important for bladder control, helping to alleviate OAB symptoms such as urgency, frequency, and incontinence.
- Behavioural Therapy: As part of behavioural therapy for OAB, our healthcare practitioners will guide you in identifying and implementing effective strategies and lifestyle adjustments to help you reduce the symptoms of OAB. The goal of this noninvasive treatment is to help you achieve better bladder control without having to resort to medication or surgery.
What are natural treatments for managing overactive bladder
There are some safe and easy-to-implement lifestyle changes you can make to gain better control of your bladder function and alleviate OAB. Here are some essential behavioural and lifestyle changes you can make to improve your symptoms of OAB.
- Keeping a bladder diary: This includes writing down what you drink and eat, how often you need to urinate (during the day and night), your symptoms of urgency, and any symptoms of leaking and incontinence. Keeping a bladder diary can help identify potential triggers of your symptoms and determine which lifestyle changes and treatments are helping.
- Adjusting your fluid intake: If you suffer from OAB, it is essential to adjust your fluid intake. This means consuming enough fluids to stay hydrated but not so much that you exacerbate your symptoms. You should also reduce your consumption of diuretics, such as coffee, tea, and alcohol.
- Managing your weight: Being overweight can significantly contribute to OAB symptoms by pressing down on your bladder. Therefore, it is crucial to stay at a healthy weight to maintain optimal bladder control.
- Bladder retraining: People who have OAB often get in the habit of urinating at the slightest urge, conditioning the bladder muscles to react a certain way. Eventually, the bladder starts signalling to the brain that it is full even when it is not. Bladder training helps teach the bladder to tolerate more urine before emptying.
The Benefits of Non-Invasive Overactive Bladder Treatments
There are many effective approaches to managing OAB symptoms. Particularly, non-invasive OAB treatments such as biofeedback, pelvic floor strengthening through Freedom+ kegel chair technology, and behavioural modifications can offer many advantages over invasive approaches such as surgery. For instance, they involve less risk and do not require significant recovery times. Typically, non-invasive methods can be considered first in treating OAB symptoms due to their convenience, safety, and effectiveness.
Why Choose Aniyah Care for your overactive bladder treatment?
The loss of bladder control can be very uncomfortable and stressful. While this is a common medical condition, it does not need to be a normal part of life.
At Aniyah Care, we offer personalized, non-invasive treatment approaches for OAB that are tailored to your unique needs and symptoms. Our multi-disciplinary team is committed to providing our patients optimal and holistic treatment solutions, not only reducing your symptoms, but also improving your overall health and well-being.
Schedule your consultation with us
Regain control with our non-invasive overactive bladder treatment and also contact us by filling out our contact form, calling us at (905) 487-4411 (toll-free) or sending an email to info@aniyahcare.com.