Incontinence is Not Normal
Any decrease in organ function will cause a decrease in brain function.
You don’t want that.
Incontinence
After having a baby or after menopause losing a little urine when you sneeze or not being able to hold your pee when you have to go is thought of as normal. Incontinence is not normal.
Incontinence is common.
Incontinence can be related to brain imbalance, core and belly imbalance, or pelvic bowl imbalance.
In addition to treating your body with manual therapy, Dr. Caroline Peterson will give you exercises to help build your core and normalize your diaphragm function.
Fecal incontinence
Fecal incontinence occurs when there is unintentional loss of some fecal matter.
This commonly will have a pelvic floor component and also a GI component.
We will work with manual therapy, diet, and exercise to help you gain control.
With both urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence we must build brain function to support the expectation of being able to control bladder and bowel.
With any incontinence, but especially fecal incontinence, there can also be an emotional component that we can address with neuroemotional technique.
How will Dr. Caroline Peterson take care of my urinary or fecal incontinence?
My approach is informed by my training as a pelvic floor therapist, plus my understanding of how the standard biomedical procedures and surgeries work, and the neuro/vascular anatomy of the body.
The pelvic floor therapist approach tends to emphasize treatment of the end organ.
The end organ is the organ or system that is having problems.
This is very important, but possibly insufficient.
Pelvic Floor Therapy Component of Care for Incontinence
Dr. Caroline Peterson will care for the myofascial (muscle and connective tissue) component of bladder, rectum, and anal sphincter health by working inside of your pelvis to balance muscles and function.
She will also prescribe exercises and daily habits to help to strengthen/stretch and recondition bladder function
Visceral/Vascular Component of Care for Incontinence
The bladder and rectum/anus do not live in isolation.
The bladder lives in relationship to the kidneys, ureters, urethra, and all other organs and structures around it.
The rectum lives in relationship to the entire GI tract.
Dr. Caroline Peterson will assess and address any organ, vein, or other structure that is contributing to incontinence.
Physiologic Breathing Component of Care for incontinence
Generally people who are incontinent are not activating their breathing mechanism properly.
When they breathe improperly the are creating a downward force with the breath that jeopardizes bladder health.
This downward force occurs not only with improper breathing, but also with improper lifting, sneezing, coughing, and other exertions.
Dr. Caroline Peterson will teach you how to use physiologic breathing with every breath and how to properly activate the diaphragms of your body (including the pelvic floor).
For fecal incontinence Dr. Caroline Peterson will also teach you the very helpful kapalabhata breathing practice to strengthen the internal anal sphincter.
Chiropractic Adjustments Component of Care for incontinence
Instead of using electrical insertions into your pelvis and leg to activate the nerves that stimulate the bladder and rectum/anus, Dr. Caroline Peterson will use the chiropractic adjustment to activate those nerves so better information can go to the bladder, rectum and anus so function can improve.
Craniosacral Therapy Component of Care for incontinence
Dr. Caroline Peterson treats the pontine micturation center with craniosacral therapy to optimize the information the central nervous system gives to the bladder and urethra sphincter about emptying or not emptying.
How many hours of care will I need?
Dr. Caroline Peterson estimates you will need about the following amount of care
10-20 hours manual therapy
1-2 hours exercise, breath, movement training
1-2 hours diet and lifestyle consult
It is my preference to provide intensive blocks of 10-20 hours of care in a week so we can make quick progress.
The minimum frequency of care with which you would still make progress is 1-2 hours weekly.
In the beginning of care it is especially important to try to get 2-4 hours of treatment close together so we can gain some traction.
If too much time goes by between treatments that are too short in duration, the body will have difficulty healing.