
If you’ve found yourself rushing to the bathroom more often or experiencing stronger urges to urinate than usual, you might be wondering what’s going on. Sometimes this can also be combined with urinary leakage – ranging from a few drops to much larger amounts. These issues can be caused by a variety of factors, some of which are relatively harmless, while others may signal an underlying health issue that may need attention. As a specialist women’s health and musculoskeletal physiotherapist, these are the initial things to know about these symptoms…
What is urinary frequency?
Frequent urination is generally defined as needing to urinate more than eight times in 24 hours. While it’s normal to visit the bathroom more frequently on certain occasions (like after drinking lots of fluids or consuming caffeine), a persistent need to urinate more often or with stronger urges can be concerning, especially if it interferes with daily life or sleep.
Urinary frequency varies from person to person, but when the urge to urinate becomes stronger and more urgent, it could indicate a number of potential causes. In many causes, treatment from a women’s health physiotherapist can really help.
What is urinary urgency?
The urge to urinate usually occurs at the point when the pressure builds in the bladder to the point where it is difficult to hold urine – however sometimes this can occur regardless of whether the bladder is full or not, causing a strong an immediate urge when the bladder is not full.
What causes urinary frequency and urgency?
There are range of reasons why you may experience these symptoms, and it’s important to seek advice from an appropriate healthcare professional to determine the cause of new or developing symptoms. You should seek advice from you GP surgery if you suspect you have a urinary tract infection – in addition to the frequent need to urinate, common signs of this are a burning sensation while urinating, cloudy or foul-smelling urine, and pelvic discomfort. It’s important to remember that urinary frequency and urgency are common and normal as pregnancy progresses – however signs or urinary tract infection or leaking urine are not normal.
What else can I do to help?
Pelvic health physiotherapists, like myself (Anna Birch Physio, Bury St Edmunds) can help you determine the cause of these issues and plan appropriate treatment. I am an experienced prenatal/pregnancy physiotherapist if you are experiencing these issues during pregnancy, and offer home visits or clinic appointments.
In many cases the symptoms can be caused by miscommunications between the brain and bladder, meaning the signal to go to the toilet occur when the bladder is not as full as it should be. Working through some bladder retraining techniques can be highly effective. A really good place to start is completing a bladder diary for 2-3 days (a ‘normal day and a weekend day) – this will be helpful at you first appointment to track your bladder habits and help identify possible causes.
Please contact Anna for more advice and support, and if you’d like any more information before booking an appointment.
Comments