Conservative Treatments
The treatment of incontinence is not limited to surgical therapy. It also includes a variety of conservative methods. Pelvic floor exercises are one of the most effective conservative treatment measures for urinary and faecal incontinence. The aim is to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles too improve their functioning. Here, patients learn to voluntarily activate and relax the pelvic floor muscles. About two-thirds of women with stress incontinence benefit from this treatment method for urinary and faecal incontinence. One prerequisite for successful treatment is sound instruction provided by specially trained physiotherapists.
The use of biofeedback devices may provide further support, whereby vaginal and rectal probes can be used to measure and visually or acoustically illustrate pressure changes during contraction and relaxation. This is important, as many women with incontinence can no longer detect the activity of their pelvic floor muscles. Patients are instructed in the use of a home appliance by our trained nursing staff who continue to offer close assistance over several months. Costs for this treatment are borne by health insurance providers. For many people, this is a very effective treatment method.
In addition to biofeedback, electrical stimulation can be used. Here, the pelvic floor muscles are passively made to contract through the use of mild electrical impulses, which over time results in a strengthening of the muscles.
The Havelhöhe Continence and Pelvic Floor Centre has established a consultation hour to provide and instruct patients on the use of special aids for this purpose.
An integral part of conservative therapy is psychotherapy, particularly in the treatment of overactive bladder symptoms and urinary urgency, involuntary loss of urine and pollakiuria. Also available are anthroposophic medicine therapies such as eurhythmy therapy and art therapy.
Not infrequently, an involuntary bowel movement is provoked due to stool consistency being too runny. This can be caused by poor nutrition or, for example, food intolerances. In cases of constipation, it is important to stimulate but not overwhelm the intestine with a fibre-rich diet that is low in processed-food content. In this way, it becomes possible to make the most of the various effects of each fibre-rich food. The individual nutrition consultation is structured to determine these correlations.
