Detailed explanation of the cause of urinary incontinence is actually because of this

Urinary incontinence refers to the involuntary discharge of urine from the urethra without any feeling of urination, regardless of time and place. Urinary incontinence mainly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people and women. The main causes of urinary incontinence are birth injuries, obesity and surgery.

1. Causes of urinary incontinence

1. Birth injuries: multiple births, urethral prolapse, uterine prolapse, etc. This is because during childbirth, the pelvic muscles are damaged to varying degrees, and the ability to support some organs in the pelvic cavity is reduced, which can also lead to stress urinary incontinence. Clinically, it is found that the incidence of urinary incontinence in vaginal deliveries is higher than that in cesarean sections.

2. Mental factors: work stress, high pressure, anxiety or neurotic bladder causes bladder muscle hypersensitivity, which makes it impossible to inhibit bladder contraction and causes urinary incontinence.

3. Decreased estrogen levels: After menopause, women’s estrogen levels decrease, causing the urethral mucosa to become thinner and its tension to decrease.

4. Obesity: As you get older, fat accumulates in your abdomen, which increases your abdominal pressure and puts greater pressure on your bladder.

5. Racial factors: Large-scale surveys show that Asians have higher rates of urinary incontinence than Europeans.

6. Surgical injury: direct damage to the pelvic floor muscles and nerves.

Types of Urinary Incontinence Symptoms

1. True urinary incontinence: due to bladder or urinary tract infection, stones, tuberculosis, tumors and other diseases, the bladder detrusor muscle over-contracts and the urethral sphincter over-relaxes, so that urine cannot be controlled to flow out of the bladder;

2. Pseudo-incontinence: due to lower urinary tract obstruction (urethral stenosis, prostatic hyperplasia or tumor, etc.) or bladder detrusor weakness and paralysis (congenital malformation, traumatic lesions, tumors and inflammatory lesions, etc. leading to damage to the lower motor neurons that regulate the bladder), the bladder is over-expanded and the internal pressure is increased, causing urine to overflow, also known as "overflow incontinence";

3. Stress urinary incontinence: It is caused by the relaxation of the urethral sphincter. When coughing, laughing, sneezing, or lifting heavy objects, the intra-abdominal pressure suddenly increases, causing a small amount of urine to overflow involuntarily. It is more common in young and middle-aged women with functional urethral sphincter relaxation.

4. Congenital female urinary incontinence: seen in various congenital urinary tract malformations.