Pelvic Health Navigator

Signs of pelvic floor weakness student

Signs of Pelvic Floor Weakness

Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction May Include:
  • Urinary incontinence (leaking wee when you don’t mean to)
  • Trouble fully emptying the bladder
  • Faecal incontinence (leaking poo)
  • Trouble fully emptying the bowel
  • Pelvic organs (like the bladder or uterus) pushing down or feeling heavy (pelvic organ prolapse)
  • Discomfort with sexual development or function later in life 
  • Ongoing pelvic pain (chronic pelvic pain)

 

Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence means the unintentional leaking of urine (wee). It’s a common problem that affects millions of people.

There are different types of urinary incontinence:

  • Stress incontinence – when wee leaks out at times when your bladder is under pressure; for example, when you cough, laugh, sneeze, or exercise
  • Urge (urgency) incontinence – when wee leaks as you feel a sudden, strong urge to go, or just afterwards
  • Overflow incontinence (chronic urinary retention) – when you’re unable to fully empty your bladder, which causes frequent leaking
  • Total incontinence – when your bladder cannot store urine at all, which causes you to pass urine constantly or have frequent leaks

 

It’s also possible to have a mixture of both stress and urge incontinence.

When to Seek Medical Advice

See a GP if you have any type of urinary incontinence. It’s a common problem and nothing to feel embarrassed about.

Talking to a doctor can be the first step towards finding a way to manage it.

A GP may:

  • ask about your symptoms

  • do an examination (for girls, this may include checking your pelvic area)

  • suggest keeping a diary of how much you drink and how often you go

  • refer you to a specialist for more tests

 

Causes of Urinary Incontinence

  • Stress incontinence is usually caused by weakened or damaged muscles that help prevent urination, such as the pelvic floor muscles.

  • Urge incontinence is usually caused by the bladder muscle being too active.

  • Overflow incontinence is often due to a blockage that stops the bladder from emptying fully.

  • Total incontinence may be due to a bladder problem from birth, a spinal injury, or a small tunnel-like hole that can form between the bladder and another area (called a fistula).

 

Things that can increase the chances of incontinence include:

  • pregnancy and vaginal birth

  • obesity (being overweight)

  • a family history of incontinence

  • getting older (though incontinence is not a normal or inevitable part of ageing)

The content on this page is based on guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS resources. It has been summarised and rephrased where appropriate for informational purposes only. For the full, official guidelines, please visit the NICE website at https://www.nice.org.uk or the NHS website at https://www.nhs.uk/.

Note: Certain terminology has been adapted to ensure age appropriateness.