UNION HOSPITAL SERVICES

Union Hospital Outpatient Therapy Services
Virtual Continence Center

Conditions that Cause Urinary Incontinence

One of the most common causes of stress incontinence is a weakening of the pelvic floor muscles. This problem affects twice as many women as men, typically because of structural differences in the urinary tract. Women can have weaker pelvic floor muscles due to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and surgery.

Causes of urge incontinence include urinary infections or damage to the nerves controlling the bladder due to illness (stroke, diseases of the nervous system tumors or cancer, or inflammation of the bladder wall), injury or surgery (cesarean section or hysterectomy). Men can experience bladder problems after prostate cancer or surgery to remove the prostate.

Arthritis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease may cause functional incontinence.

Overflow incontinence can occur when the urethra, the tube out of the bladder, is blocked due to causes such as kidney or urinary stones, tumors or a birth defect. In men, this condition may be the result of an enlarged prostate.