Don’T Let Bladder Spasm Symptoms Control Your Life
Depending on the severity, bladder spasm symptoms can lead to accidents, bed wetting, and disruptive changes in your lifestyle. The embarrassment caused by bladder spasm symptoms can be from a variety of reasons, but there are treatment options to improve them. The following will educate you on what your bladder does, how it works, what may cause your bladder spasm symptoms and how to treat them.
Function of the Urinary Bladder
The urinary tract is composed mainly of the kidneys, ureters and bladder. The kidneys filter wastes from the blood and dispense the liquid wastes (urine) into the bladder. The ureters are the tubes that transport the urine from the kidneys and out of the body. The bladder is a muscular sac that expands to hold urine until it is voided from the body. Since it is a muscle, the bladder can have bladder spasms just like a muscle in your arm or leg.
The bladder increases in size as it fills with urine. When it is full, nerve endings signal the brain it is time to urinate. The bladder will contract to help force out urine while the person urinates.
Reasons for Bladder Spasm Symptoms
Mild bladder spasms may occur during urination if the person has been holding back urination for very long. This is caused from the bladder stretching out (in an attempt to become larger) to accommodate additional urine and then being required to contract back and expel the urine upon voiding. These bladder spasms are not symptoms of any disease process, unless they are more than a little uncomfortable or reoccurring.
The bladder spasms due to holding urine for too long do not feel anything like the bladder spasm symptoms associated with a medical problem. These bladder spasms occur when the bladder suddenly and forcefully contracts, causing a person to have the sudden urge to urinate. The contraction can be strong enough to expel urine from the bladder causing leakage or incontinence (involuntary urination). This type of incontinence is called urge incontinence or overactive bladder (OAB).
Women with bladder spasm symptoms of this type describe the feeling as a continuous cramping similar to menstrual cramps or labor contractions. Some health conditions that contribute to bladder spasm symptoms are menopause, pregnancy, recent childbirth, urinary tract infection, lower abdominal or pelvic surgery, and nerve or bladder damage due to trauma or illness. The elderly population has bladder spasm symptoms at a higher rate than other age groups.
Treatment for Bladder Spasm Symptoms
Treatment for bladder spasm varies depending on the cause and severity. Generally a combination of the following is used to bring bladder spasm symptoms under control:
1. Dietary Alterations: If certain foods are causing bladder irritation, removing them may help. Foods such as spicy, acidic, citrus and caffeine can irritate the bladder and contribute to bladder spasms. Controlling fluid intake such as limiting intake before bedtime can help control bladder spasm symptoms.
2. Behavioral Bladder Training: A person is asked to set a schedule to void (urinate). The scheduled voiding (for example voiding every one or two hours) is followed until bladder spasms improve and fewer incontinent episodes occur. When this happens the time intervals between voiding is increased. Biofeedback (teaching the mind to be aware of and control automated functions such as breathing) is generally incorporated with bladder training to treat bladder spasm symptoms.
3. Pelvic floor exercises are used to increase the strength and tone of the bladder and surrounding muscles that assist in urination. Kegel exercises are taught by physical therapists to aid a person in achieving control over their bladder spasms.
4. Medications are sometimes prescribed to help relax the bladder spasms. The medications also assist a person in emptying the bladder completely when they do urinate.
There are a few more invasive procedures such as electrical implant that are used in the most severe cases, after less intrusive methods have not been effective. Suffering from bladder spasm symptoms should not be a part of your daily life. Consult your doctor to develop a treatment plan to get your bladder spasms under control.
