Urinary incontinence means passing urine unintentionally. It is common and can affect people of different ages and sexes, but it should not simply be accepted as an inevitable part of ageing.
Symptoms can affect sleep, exercise, travel, relationships and confidence in everyday life. People can feel embarrassed discussing bladder symptoms, but appropriate assessment can identify the type of incontinence and suitable treatment.
Stress incontinence involves leaking when the bladder is under pressure, such as during coughing, laughing or exercise. Urge incontinence involves a sudden intense need to pass urine, sometimes followed by leakage. Other forms include overflow, total and mixed incontinence.
Established care may include lifestyle changes, pelvic-floor exercises, bladder training, medication, continence products or surgery depending on the cause and type.
During treatment, Jamie considers the pattern of symptoms, urgency, frequency, sleep, fluid intake, pregnancy or birth history, menopause, prostate or pelvic treatment, medication and wider health.
Chinese medicine uses an individual diagnosis rather than treating everybody with urinary incontinence in the same way. Treatment is adapted according to symptoms, health history, diagnosis and wider presentation.
Acupuncture may be considered only as supportive care. It should not replace medical assessment, pelvic-floor physiotherapy, bladder training or other recommended treatment.
The first appointment provides time to discuss symptoms sensitively, including when leakage occurs, urgency, frequency, sleep and its effect on everyday life.
Jamie will ask about medical assessment, medication, pelvic-floor care and other treatment. The appointment includes an individual Chinese medicine assessment and, where appropriate, your first acupuncture treatment.
Urinary incontinence connects with the Wellbeing and Health Pathway. Care remains individual and should sit alongside appropriate continence and medical support.
There is no current dedicated urinary-incontinence fact sheet available within the British Acupuncture Council's Evidence A-Z catalogue. Evidence and treatment needs differ according to the type and cause of incontinence, so no general claim should be made that acupuncture treats all urinary incontinence.
Further reading:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-incontinence/non-surgical-treatment/
https://acupuncture.org.uk/about-acupuncture/acupuncture-research/evidence-a-z/
See a GP for any type of urinary incontinence. Seek prompt medical advice for pain when urinating, blood in the urine, difficulty emptying the bladder, repeated urinary infections or new symptoms.
Seek urgent medical help for sudden loss of bladder control accompanied by back pain, leg weakness, numbness around the genitals or buttocks, or loss of bowel control.
If medically assessed bladder symptoms are affecting everyday life, a first appointment gives us time to discuss whether acupuncture may be a suitable part of your wider care.