Understanding How the Bladder Works
To understand the problem, it helps to understand how our bladder works:
Kidneys filter urine from the blood and this is stored in your bladder.- The bladder is a hollow muscular organ that holds the urine until you decide that you feel full (hopefully at about 300mls).
- When you reach the toilet, you relax your pelvic floor muscles (the muscles under the bladder) and your brain gives permission for the bladder muscle to contract, squeezing the urine out through the urethra – the tube from the bladder to the outside.
- When the bladder muscle contracts, the muscle that holds the bladder outlet tube (urethra) shut during storage (called the sphincter), relaxes to allow the urine to pass through.
- The whole system is supported by the muscles of the pelvic floor that run from the tip of your tailbone through to the pubic bone (the front bone of your pelvis).
Many women with bladder weakness have weakened or damaged pelvic floor muscles, and may not be able to sense when their bladders are full, which leads to difficulty in controlling urination. Many women are able to gain back some strength in these muscles by learning and practicing Pelvic Floor Exercises.