Marissa is a 23-year-old with urge incontinence. Read her story and learn how the personalized treatment programs from Atlantis Physical Therapy helped her relieve her symptoms.
I was having urge incontinence for quite a while. It actually started a few years ago and I didn’t really think much of it at the time. I just thought it’s something that happens every once in a while and it’s just an accident. I just brushed it off to the side. I was just embarrassed by it and didn’t think it was much of an issue. As time went on I realized it was something that was becoming more of a problem for me, and it was happening more than I would have hoped or wanted.
I mentioned it to my gynecologist. I said it would happen when I was stressed out about taking a test at school or just with circumstances where I wouldn’t be able to use the bathroom when I wanted to. I had no idea that there was physical therapy done for Women’s Health and for the specific issue that I was having when my doctor referred me to Karyn at Atlantis PT.
What did your PT program involve?
In the beginning, it was just talking through everything. We were trying to figure out why and how all the accidents happened to try to see exactly what we could do to you tackle the problem. It was a mix of trying to get myself out of my head to prevent my brain from overthinking everything. A lot of my concern was what to do if I’m in a situation where I have to go to the bathroom and I can’t and she would talk me through different scenarios like if I was waiting in line at the bathroom or if I was on a road trip and had to wait an hour. She would teach me different types of exercises that I could do and really try to get my mind to focus on something else rather than having to go to the bathroom.
How quickly did you start seeing progress?
I think I saw a little progress after the first couple of visits where I felt okay and that I was more in control of my bladder. I started seeing her about once a week and then when I saw significant improvement after a month, I started to see her monthly.
How easy or hard was your home exercise program?
It was something that could easily fit into my routine or my schedule and wasn’t something that I had to change anything for. I would do exercise about once a day. It would generally be when I was studying so I was sitting down and I would just take a quick 10 15 minute break to do the exercises. Or, some of time when I was driving and would be stopped at a traffic light I could easily do them there also.
How was it working with Karyn?
Working with Karyn she made me feel very relaxed and at ease. Every time I went to an appointment with her it just felt more like a conversation. It wasn’t like my other PT programs for traditional orthopedic injuries. When I was in the room with her it was very easy and the time always went by really fast with her.
What advice would you have for others with this problem?
I would just say to not be afraid to ask for help, and I was very stubborn about it. I think that’s why it took me so long to go to physical therapy for it. I think it’s something that I could have tackled a lot sooner instead of having had to deal with it for several years.
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