Physiotherapeutic measures

Pelvic floor exercises - strengthening the weakened muscles in the pelvis minor

Over time, many people forget how to consciously and specifically engage their muscles. Only about 60% of people with incontinence are able to do so. By means of special exercises or physiotherapy - individually or in a
group -, the persons affected are taught awareness of their pelvic floor, that means, how to contract and relax these muscles correctly. If they manage to do so, the muscles can be specifically engaged to close the urethra in situations involving physical stress, for example, when coughing or lifting heavy objects.

Electrotherapy - neuromuscular electrostimulation of the pelvic floor and urinary bladder

In simplified terms, the principle on which electrostimulation works can be described as follows: the various pelvic floor muscles as well as the muscle fibres of the external sphincter system are "stimulated" by an electrical current at specific frequencies, causing them to contract and, by contracting, to improve their performance. This measure may be indicated for muscular re-education, for delaying muscle atrophy, for increasing local blood flow and for inhibiting the detrusor muscle reflex, and should form part of a comprehensive rehabilitation regime in the presence of stress, urge, or mixed incontinence.