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grip strength and urinary incontinence | Image Licensed by Securecat under Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0
Grip Strength & Incontinence | Image Licensed by Securecat under Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0

November is Bladder Health Awareness Month.

At Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy, we take pride in understanding and applying how your whole body affects your pelvic health. In this article, we explore the links between grip strength and urinary incontinence.

A study conducted at the Jeju National University measured grip strength in patients and found statistically significant differences in patients with incontinence, overactive bladder and nocturia4. They found these patients had a weaker grip strength (less than 18kg) using a hand dynamometer. 

Types & Frequency of Incontinence

In the United States, 51% of women live with urinary incontinence1. Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine which can be mild (a few drops) to a complete inability to control the bladder. There can be different triggers that may

cause the leakage such as a sneeze/laugh (stress incontinence) or when there is a sudden and strong urge to urinate (urge incontinence). 16.9% of men and women have a diagnosis of overactive bladder2. Overactive bladder is defined as the frequent and sudden urge to urinate that can be hard to control and could result in incontinence. Nocturia is defined as waking at night with the need to urinate. If you are under 65 years old it is not normal to be awoken from an urge; if over 65 years old it can be normal to wake up one time per night to urinate.  

Grip Strength and Urinary Incontinence

Another study found that women with decreased muscle mass (sarcopenia) have 1.5 times higher rates of stress urinary incontinence3.

The pelvic floor muscles in women support the bladder, bowels, and uterus. These groups of muscles have five functions:

  • support
  • sphincteric
  • sexual
  • stability
  • sump-pump

These studies found that a general decrease in muscle mass is associated with a decrease in the strength and muscle mass of the pelvic floor muscles. Using grip strength can be an effective and quick tool to use to screen patients. This can be especially helpful in the primary care setting.

Many patients report not speaking to their doctor about these symptoms because they are either embarrassed, believe its a normal part or aging/childbirth, think it's not problematic enough or fear having invasive testing4. Using hand strength and a thorough intake could help with earlier diagnosis of these lower urinary tract symptoms. If you think you may be experiencing any of the symptoms linking grip strength and urinary incontinence, please talk to your doctor and/or contact us for an appointment so we can discuss this further. 

 

References

Markland, Alayne D, et al. “Prevalence and Trends of Urinary Incontinence in Adults in the United States, 2001 to 2008.” The Journal of Urology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3197263/#:~:text=Results,women%20and%2013.9%25%20in%20men. 

Milsom I, Abrams P, Cardozo L, Roberts RG, Thüroff J, Wein AJ. How widespread are the symptoms of an overactive bladder and how are they managed? A population-based prevalence study. BJU Int. 2001 Jun. 87(9):760-6. [Medline].

Erdogan T, Bahat G, Kilic C, Kucukdagli P, Oren MM, Erdogan O, et al. The relationship between sarcopenia and urinary incontinence. Eur Geriat Med. 2019;10:923.

Yang, S.-J., Park, J. H., Oh, Y., Kim, H., Kong, M., & Moon, J. (2021). Association of decreased grip strength with lower urinary tract symptoms in women: a cross‐sectional study from Korea. BMC Women’s Health, 21(1). doi:10.1186/s12905-021-01241-4 

What Our Patients Have to Say

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Testimonial by J.B.

My husband and I were having problems with painful intercourse. My therapist recommended that I go and get a pelvic floor evaluation from a physical therapist. Having never been treated by a physical therapist, I wondered how this really was going to help me. My husband who is a physician was very supportive and agreed that a PT evaluation would be a great idea. So i made the appointment and was blown away by what I learned. I had no idea that pelvic floor muscles could get tight and have trigger points just like any other muscle in the body. I'm a massage therapist and very familiar with tight muscles, and this new thought really amazed me. Heather's program to help relax and strengthen these muscles made such a difference. I can say that I am 100% pain free during intercourse now. Yippee! Going to the PT appointments and doing the at-home exercises was definitely a discipline, but it's 100% worth it! The rewards are amazing.

-- J.B.

Testimonial by Ann V.

I wish i could give this place 10 stars!! 
I have been suffering from vaginismus for 5 years and never found the cure to it. I had seen an ob/gyn and he diagnosed me with vaginismus and told me i needed a surgery to cure my condition, which i refused to do. He also referred me to a PT that he works with, i had given them multiple calls and they never responded back to me, so i started searching yelp for another PT. I am SO HAPPY I found Heather's office! I was working with Laureen, and with her guidance and techniques i was able to be cured from vaginismus in only 2 1/2 short months!!! I couldn't believe how quickly their program worked for me! I am forever grateful and thankful from Heather, and Laureen! They are the absolute best at what they do!

Read more: Testimonial by Ann V.

Testimonial by R.D., age 38

"I had a severe tear during childbirth that was not stitched together correctly and therefore healed poorly. Even after having a surgery a year later to remove the scar tissue, I was still having pain, and no one could explain why -- there was no overt 'reason' to explain the pain. I had tried other 'specialists' and even saw another physical therapist who had me do hip / leg stretches -- what a joke! I was about to give up and just 'live with it' until thankfully I kept searching online and found Heather.

Read more: Testimonial by R.D., age 38

Testimonial by R.M., Age 40

I can’t speak highly enough of the theapists at Femina Physical Therapy and how much they have helped me grow, discover, and love my body. I had had painful sex for my entire life, and didn’t know that there was anything that could be done about it. It was at the point where my husband and I were not having sex for MONTHs, because it was just too frustrating, and I hated feeling like I was the ONLY woman out there who had this problem, especially at my age. I finally brought it up to my doctor because I was turning 40 and my husband and I were barely having enough sex to conceive. And she brought up pelvic floor, PT. I didn’t even know this was a “thing”.

Read more: Testimonial by R.M., Age 40

Testimonial by M.M.

My husband and I were married for 5 years and unable to have intercourse, but I never knew why. After numerous awful experiences at doctor’s offices (where many doctors told me I “just needed to relax”), a surgery that didn’t fix the problem, and a year of owning dilators that didn’t get me anywhere, someone finally referred me to Heather for Physical Therapy. I finally had answers and information from someone who knew exactly what I was dealing with!

Read more: Testimonial by M.M.

Testimonial by P.M.

I was hopeful but frankly skeptical when the doctor treating me for Interstitial Cystitis recommended that I go to Heather for physical therapy. Medication and diet helped control my IC symptoms, but I had never heard of physical therapy being used to treat IC. The education and treatment I received from Heather was a revelation. She explained that the pain I experienced with IC had helped create a cycle of muscle guarding which affected the entire pelvic area. I had no idea of the amount of tension being held there. No wonder my husband and I had not been able to have sexual intercourse for years!

Read more: Testimonial by P.M.

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