What is your bladder story?
A giant bladder stuffy
Do you find yourself with your own bladder narrative? As pelvic PTs we hear it all! And for the record we love to talk about it. Here are some whisperings in the pelvic (bladder) wind…
“My bladder is the size of pea.”
“My bladder is the size of a house!”
“I pee like a race-horse.”
“I just have the trickles.”
“I just look at water and I have to pee.”
“Did I pee today?”
People’s experiences of their own bladder and its functioning can vary a lot! About this amazing organ…
The bladder is a small but mighty organ housed in the lower abdomen. When visualized anatomically the bladder is typically pink in color and its size varies considerably depending whether it is empty of full. It can be the size of walnut when fully empty but can expand to the size of a grapefruit when completely full. Its main job is to store urine that has been filtered by the kidneys above. As the bladder organ stretches with urine and becomes 1/3 to 1/2 stretched, sensory receptors in the bladder walls will begin to send signals to the brain that it will need to empty…in the near future. The brain has an option to filter the information and not pay much attention to it or to act on the signals and empty. As the bladder becomes increasingly fuller, the signals become more frequent and intense to the brain and the option to head to the toilet to urinate typically become increasingly stronger.
The bladder can hold up to 500-600 mL of urine (or approximately 2 cups). Signals of filling usually begin to occur when the bladder expands to hold around 150-350mL of pee. Most people will pee around 950-1,900mL of urine daily, or around 2 quarts. Bladder conditions affect a large amount of the population…
Statistics show that over 33 million Americans or 1 in every 10 people experience Overactive Bladder Syndrome (needing to pee more than every 2 hours).
Did you know that it is not normal to need to pee more often than every 2 hours?
Approximately 50% of women over age 65 are impacted by Stress Urinary Incontinence (leaking pee with running, jumping, laughing, coughing, sneezing).
Did you know that it is not normal to leak urine under any circumstance?
An estimated 1 to 4 million females will experience Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (pain in the lower abdomen that is associated with peeing or needing to pee).
It is never normal to experience pain, please seek help if you have pain.
Bladder cancer is the 6th most common type of cancer in the United States.
The treatment can impact how you poop and pee, but pelvic floor can help make it less of an impact.
Nocturia (getting up at night to pee) affects 1 in 3 adults over the age of 30.
It is not normal to wake up at all to pee during the night. Even if you are an older adult, nighttime peeing is a sign of a problem that can most often be fixed.
As we can see there are a lot of different conditions and ways in which the bladder can cause disruption to the daily lives of many of us. An important thing to remember is that bladder conditions are not just happening to older females…they affect all genders and ages!
Even though peeing is a vital part of all of our lives it is often something that we take for granted until issues begin to arise. If you find that you are experiencing bladder issues it is important to reach out to your healthcare provider to seek proper assessment and treatment. In pelvic floor therapy we will inquire into the happenings of your bladder function. We want to know if things are going well or if you have issues that you want to address. We treat many different functional bladder issues ranging from increased urgency and frequency, unwanted leaking, bladder pain, pelvic pain, decreased urgency and urinary retention, and more…
This November take a moment to form gratitude for your own bladder…it’s function is vital to our lives!