Myofascial Release for the Bladder

August 10, 2022
Bladder, Myofascial Release

Myofascial Release for your bladder? Is that actually a thing?…… YES
It may sound counter intuitive, but it can help, depending on what’s going on.

Fascia And The Bladder

Fascia refers to the connective tissue of the body. If fascia tightens around the bladder, it can limit the bladder’s potential to fill and empty sufficiently, creating the urge to urinate frequently or even cause embarrassing leaks. Imagine the bladder surrounded by a net of soft tissue that is tight, dehydrated and not stretchy. Even with a small amount of filling, the bladder can send signals to the brain that it’s “full”, even when it’s not. On the other hand, when a person coughs, sneezes or laughs, tight fascia can create an environment where the bladder has little to no give to it, so urine can seep out, causing embarrassing leaks.

Pelvic floor therapy is a type of specialized treatment that can help alleviate pelvic floor pain or other issues. Your pelvic floor consists of muscles, ligaments and soft tissue that supports the pelvic region and all of the organs that are encased in that “basket”. This includes the bladder, uterus, vagina, and rectum for women. For men it includes the bowel, bladder and prostate.

Pelvic Floor Disorders that affect many women include:

Frequent Urination
Stress Incontinence
Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pain with Sex
Bowel Issues
Pain During or After Bowel Movements
Pelvic Pain
Menstrual Pain / Difficulty
Sacroiliac Joint Pain (SI Joint)
Pain in the Lower Abdomen, Back, Hips, Groin, Tailbone or Genitals
Vaginal Dryness
Difficulty achieving orgasm

And some of the Pelvic Floor issues men may experience are:

Pain in the Groin, Abdomen, Low Back, Tailbone, or Genitals
Sacroiliac Joint Pain (SI Joint)
Urinary Incontinence
Difficulty with Maintaining an Erection
Pain During or After a Bowel Movement
Bowel Issues
Frequent Urination
Pain With Sex

Imagine This

Just picture the fascia tightening like a powerful three-dimensional net around the pelvic structures. Fascia surrounds and infuses every organ, duct, nerve, blood vessel, muscle and bone of the pelvic cavity. Fascia has the tendency to tighten after trauma, sports injuries, inflammatory processes, surgery, poor posture or childbirth.

Instead of being fluid and moving freely, fascia can clamp down and get sticky or even turn into a solid tissue, creating a straight-jacket effect on your bladder and surrounding structures, so when you sneeze, cough, or even step hard off a curb, you may experience leaking.

Fascial restrictions have the potential of putting enormous pressure on pain-sensitive structures, producing pain or malfunction of the important pelvic structures. And because fascial restrictions do not show up on standardized tests like CT Scans, MRIs or X-rays, most healthcare providers don’t even realize this is the cause of the pain!

How can you treat your bladder using a simple, at-home technique?

Check out this short video where Justine Calderwood, Pelvic Physical Therapist, will be talking about Myofascial Release of the Bladder, followed by a demonstration on how to use a small inflatable ball to achieve that release.

I hope this video helps assist you in gaining more control of your bladder and relieving any pain you may be experiencing.

If you are frustrated and fed-up dealing with bladder leaking, urgency or pain and you want some help, Inquire About Our Services here. We would love to hear how bad it is and how it’s impacting your day-to-day life to see if we can offer any solutions to you.