Urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women - causes, symptoms, treatment

Abstract

Urinary incontinence (UI) is an important social problem that affects more than 50% of postmenopausal women. The number of patients increases from year to year. According to recent data, UI affects women twice as often as men. This condition occurs in about 20-30% of young women, 30-40% in middle age and up to 50% of women in old age. There are five types of urinary incontinence. The etiology of the problem of incontinence is not fully understood, because the problem can affect men and women of all ages and can be due to many changes in the human body. International Continence Society Guidelines indicate that treatment of urinary incontinence should begin with conservative treatment. Surgical treatment should be used when conservative treatment will not bring positive results. According to guidelines, conservative treatment should include pharmacotherapy, physiotherapy, and behavioral therapy. Numerous scientific reports indicate efficacy of physiotherapy in the treatment of urinary incontinence. Most recent reports indicate that physiotherapy gives a positive result in up to 80% of patients with stage I or stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and mixed form, and in 50% of patients with stage II SUI. Urinary incontinence is an interdisciplinary problem because in addition to the sphere directly related to medicine, it also concerns the economic and social spheres. The latest data show that incontinence in postmenopausal women occurs more often than other civilization diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or depression.

Keywords: physiotherapy; treatment; urinary incontinence.