What causes urinary incontinence? Are there different types?
Urinary incontinence is more common as people age, but it is not part of normal aging and it can occur at any age. The most common types of urinary incontinence are stress incontinence and urge incontinence. In stress incontinence (the most common type among women), involuntary loss of urine occurs with anything that increases intra-abdominal pressure, such as coughing, sneezing or exercise. A sudden rise in intra-abdominal pressure puts extra stress on the bladder which cannot remained closed, and so a squirt of urine is forced out through the urethra. Most commonly this occurs because the normal support of the urethra has become defective (often as a result of childbirth), so the urethra cannot close properly under conditions of physical stress. This is often called anatomic or hypermobility stress incontinence. Sometimes the urethra itself has become weakened and no longer closes properly. This condition is often called intrinsic sphincter weakness or deficiency. In urge incontinenc
