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Why learn about bladder control?
Good bladder control sounds simple. Just hold on until you get to the bathroom. All men and women need to understand their bladder control system. It sounds simple. But good bladder control takes teamwork from many organs, muscles, and nerves in your body.
What are the parts of the bladder control system?
Most of your bladder control system lies inside the pelvis. Stand with your hands on your hips. The bones under your hands are the pelvic bones. Your pelvis is shaped like a big bowl. Your hands lie on the rim of the bowl. The bottom of the bowl, between your legs, is muscle.
Four important body systems work inside the pelvic bowl:
What do bladder control muscles do?
Three sets of muscles control urine. One set is the bladder muscle itself. The second set is sphincter muscles that open and close the urethra. The third set is the muscles at the bottom of the pelvic bowl.
Healthy sphincter muscles can keep the urethra closed. They are called the pelvic floor muscles. They support the uterus, rectum, and bladder. Sometimes pelvic muscles get stretched and weak. When this happens, organs in the pelvic bowl sag. Then women have trouble holding their urine. Luckily, exercising the pelvic muscles can often make them strong again. Sometimes nerves are damaged by childbirth or other events. The damaged nerves signal the bladder muscles to squeeze urine out at the wrong times. Medical treatment can help women with this problem.
Bladder control means you urinate only when you want to. For good bladder control, all parts of your system must work together:
Points to Remember:
Pelvic floor muscles used for bladder control will grow stronger with daily exercise.