Stress Incontinence – Autologous Cell Therapy Announced
Stress Incontinence Autologous Cell Therapy Announced
Incontinence is usually associated with older people but many younger people, women especially, will develop stress incontinence as a result of a pregnancy and childbirth or some other underlying cause that affects the bladder's performance. Fortunately there are effective therapies to manage or even cure this condition and most are easy to do and have little or no impact on everyday life.
Stress incontinence is caused when the muscles of the lower pelvic floor lose their tone or are otherwise damaged to the point that they can no longer support the organs of the abdomen. When this occurs, the organs can shift resulting in excessive pressure or stress on the bladder and when that pressure is intensified from something as simple as a sneeze or laugh, it can result in an involuntary flow of urine.
For years the standard treatment for this condition included Kegel exercises which are basically isometric exercises designed to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. It is an effective therapy that requires a daily "workout" and takes roughly 3 months to take full effect. Other natural approaches to managing the condition include avoidance of natural diuretics like caffeine and alcohol and spicy foods that irritate the bladder.
Today however, there is a new high tech treatment that is being evaluated. Autologous muscle cell injection therapy involves placing a person's own muscle cells directly into a weakened sphincter muscle. The sphincter is the muscle that controls the flow of urine from the bladder into the urethra and is obviously a key to preventing a continence problem.
The autologous cells are harvested typically from the person's own thigh muscle and then injected directly into the sphincter. In a study presented by the American Urological Association this procedure was found to be effective on a little over two thirds of the subjects who underwent it. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis and there is no downtime for recovery.
Stress incontinence does not have to be a part of your life. Visit your doctor and together work out a therapy that makes sense for your particular condition.
