Stronger After Stroke · Norton Neuroscience Comprehensive Stroke Center and Resource Center

Regaining Control: Pelvic Floor Therapy for Incontinence After Stroke

·21 min·1 clip

Cecil says incontinence is the number one reason women end up in nursing homes.

1. Stronger After Stroke centers this episode on pelvic floor therapy for incontinence and pelvic pain after stroke. 2. Rosa Hart hosts and Lisa Cecil, a pelvic floor therapist, explains why stroke recovery can involve the whole body. 3. The episode asks what pelvic floor therapy is for when stroke survivors have urinary, bowel, or sexual symptoms. 4. Cecil says some stroke survivors develop urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic pain, or pain with sex. 5. She ties those symptoms to spasticity, hormone changes, sensation differences, and trouble asking for bathroom help. 6. Rosa Hart notes that some stroke-related symptoms are invisible to other people, especially incontinence. 7. Cecil says stroke survivors may also struggle with balance, gait, strength, and awareness of bowel or bladder loss. 8. She describes working alongside a neurological physical therapist while handling the private pelvic-floor issues. 9. Cecil says insurance may cover both therapies when a patient needs separate treatment for separate problems. 10. She says many patients do not know pelvic floor therapy exists until they need it. 11. Cecil says people often fear embarrassment, pelvic exams, or pain with intercourse before the first visit. 12. She contrasts her exam with a gynecological exam by saying she uses real sheets, no speculum, and no stirrups. 13. Cecil says she mainly checks whether the muscles are tender, atrophied, strong, able to relax, and able to bear down. 14. She explains kegels as squeezing and holding the pelvic floor, then jokes about the German pronunciation of “Kegels.” 15. Cecil says stronger endurance can help with prolapse, especially when abdominal pressure rises during lifting or sneezing. 16. She compares pessaries to orthotics and says they can support the bladder, rectum, or uterus, especially with cystocele. 17. Cecil says hysterectomy can raise the chance of bladder or rectal prolapse because the space left behind is no longer supported. 18. She says men can also need pelvic floor therapy, especially after prostatectomy, and that telehealth is available. 19. People interested in stroke recovery, continence, or pelvic health would likely benefit from this episode. 20. People looking for a high-level stroke overview without body-specific detail might skip it.

As heard by us

A clear look at pelvic floor care after stroke.

Stronger After Stroke takes up a subject that stroke coverage can easily miss: pelvic floor problems that may follow stroke, including urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic pain.

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Why you'd press play

If stroke has made bathroom timing a little rude, this one gets specific fast, and politely enough.

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