Urinary Incontinence

The urinary process begins with the kidneys that are responsible for filtering waste and water from your blood. The waste and water combine to create urine. The urine must then travel through the ureters to the bladder where it is stored until urination.

The bladder is a complex organ consisting of muscle tissues that enable it to hold urine in place as necessary and to push urine through the urethra and out of the body during urination.

The human nervous system also plays a role in the urinary process. As the bladder fills with urine, nerves inside the bladder send messages to the brain alerting you to the coming need to urinate. Once the bladder nerves send a message of "full" to the brain, the brain in turn sends a message to the sphincter muscle that it is time to release the urine from the bladder into the urethra and out of the body.

Incontinence, the loss of bladder control, is the result of a dysfunction somewhere in the urinary process. The dysfunction may be related to the nervous system message relay between the brain, muscles and nerves involved in urination, or it may be the result of other factors listed below. It is important to consult your physician for proper diagnosis of the cause of any dysfunctions of the urinary process.