Managing Urinary Incontinence: Patient Resources
These patient resources provide tips on learning about and discussing urinary incontinence to making decisions with your provider.
Experiencing Urinary Leakage? You Are Not Alone And You Have Options.
This page contains resources that can help you understand, talk about, and manage your urinary incontinence.
Trusted Urinary Incontinence (UI)-Associated Organizations
The Simon Foundation for Continence:
A 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to bring the topic of incontinence out into the open, remove the stigma surrounding incontinence, and provide help and hope to people with incontinence, their families, and the health professionals who provide their care.
Voices for Pelvic Floor Disorders (PFD):
Website and online community developed by the American Urogynecology Society (AUGS) to educate patients and caregivers about pelvic floor disorders.
International Urogynecological Association
Professional medical association dedicated to the global advance of urogynecological knowledge and patient care through education and the promotion of basic and clinical research on disorders of the female pelvic floor.
Urology Care Foundation:
Official foundation of the American Urological Association that provides fact sheets, assessment tools, diaries, guides, etc.
National Association for Continence:
A non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with incontinence, voiding dysfunction, and related pelvic floor disorders, specifically focused on reducing stigma.
Mind Over Matter: Healthy Bowels, Healthy Bladder:
A program created by researchers at the University of Wisconsin in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
World Federation for Incontinence and Pelvic Problems:
A Federation of national patient organizations or institutions that aim to create global visibility for incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction, whereby the key objectives are awareness, advocacy, and action.
UroToday Pelvic Health Center of Excellence:
A non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with incontinence, voiding dysfunction, and related pelvic floor disorders, specifically focused on reducing stigma.
Learning About Urinary Incontinence
Stress Incontinence
The following resources provide information on stress urinary incontinence, which is the involuntary leakage of urine during activities such as coughing, sneezing, laughing or exercising. These resources describe the symptoms and causes, as well as diagnosis, treatment options, and strategies for managing your urinary incontinence.
Webpages
Stress Incontinence (Voices for PFD)
- Stress Urinary Incontinence International Urogynecological Association)
- Stress Urinary Incontinence (Voices for PFD)
Videos
- Breaking Free from Incontinence: A Journey to Reclaiming Confidence and Comfort (English, 18 minutes): Dr. Sampselle discusses urinary incontinence, the impact it can have on women’s lives, and three strategies to reduce or prevent urine leakage.
- Control de Vejiga (Spanish, 5 minutes): Dr. Blandon explains stress and urgency urinary incontinence and provides an overview of treatment and management options for each condition.
- Online library of Educational Videos (Voices for PFD), containing:
- Animated videos on a range of incontinence and bladder topics, such as prolapse and overactive bladder.
- A series of videos in healthcare providers explain different pelvic floor disorders, their symptoms, and treatments.
- Videos in Spanish covering prolapse and bladder control in women.
- A four-part series following a patient’s care journey with a urogynecologist.
Overactive Bladder
The following resources provide information on overactive bladder, a condition that causes a sudden urge to urinate, sometimes followed by leaking.
Webpages and Handouts
Overactive Bladder (Voices for PFD)
- Overactive Bladder Patient Guide [CM1] (Urology Care Foundation)
- Overactive Bladder: Managing OAB at Work and on the Go (Urology Care Foundation)
- It’s Time to Talk About OAB: (Urology Care Foundation)
Discussing and Disclosing Urinary Incontinence
Resources To Help You Connect With a Professional
Stress Incontinence
- Toll free information number, 1-800-23Simon (237- 4666): Caller leaves a voicemail with a UI question or concern and a representative from the Simon Foundation will return the call within 48 hours.
- Ask the Experts (Voices for PFD): Opportunity to submit a question to an American Urogyneocology Society physician member and receive an email answer.
- Talking to Your Doctor: Helpful Tips for Starting Talks about Pelvic Floor Disorders (Voices for PFD): A list of conversation starters and questions to ask your doctor.
- Getting Ready for First Visit with a Urogynecologist (Voices for PFD): A checklist with questions to consider to help you prepare for your first visit with a doctor to discuss your symptoms.
- Mind Over Matter: Healthy Bowels, Healthy Bladder Workshop: 3-session workshop program for women to improve or prevent bowel and bladder incontinence.
Resources To Help You Connect With Other Individuals Who Experience Urinary Incontinence
- HealthUnlocked: Online support community for those dealing with incontinence to relate to others and share advice. This forum is moderated by the Simon Foundation.
- Coaching Program: To Tell Or Not To Tell (Simon Foundation): Join a small group program led by a trained Life Coach for $15 to connect with others with incontinence and discuss who in your life you feel comfortable sharing information about your UI with.
- Message boards (National Association for Continence): An online forum of message boards covering a range of incontinence-related topics, including medications, testing, tips, and caregivers.
Making Decisions About Your Incontinence
- Support in Continence (World Federation for Incontinence and Pelvic Problems): Anonymously answer three questions and be directed to resources to help you or a loved one learn more about incontinence.
- Toolkit: To Tell or Not to Tell (Simon Foundation): This toolkit helps people who are thinking about who to discuss their incontinence symptoms with and how to navigate any feelings of embarrassment or shame.
- What can I do about urinary incontinence? (Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario): This document walks you through four steps to help you decide which treatment option for managing urinary incontinence is right for you.
Managing Your Urinary Incontinence
- Non-Surgical Approaches to Managing Bladder Problems (International Urogynelogical Association): This webpage explains the different types of urinary incontinence and what you can do to manage your symptoms.
- What can I do about urinary incontinence? (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario): This document walks you through four steps to help you decide which treatment option for managing urinary incontinence is right for you.
- Lifestyle & Behavior Changes (Voices for PFD): Helpful tips for everyday changes you can make to help improve your urinary incontinence symptoms.
- Bladder Training Guide: (International Urogynelogical Association): A guide to learning the messages your bladder is sending you, getting rid of bad bladder habits, and learning good habits to take back control of your life.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
The muscles of the pelvic floor control your ability to urinate and hold your urine until you are ready to go. Pelvic floor exercises can help you strengthen the muscles of your pelvic floor, which can prevent leakage and calm the urge to pass urine.
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises & Bladder Training (Voices for PFD): Step by step guide to pelvic floor muscle exercises and bladder training exercises.
- Kegel Exercise Instruction Sheet (Voices for PFD): Instructions for Kegel exercises, which strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor.
- Pelvic Floor Exercises (International Urogynegolocial Association): Webpage that explains what causes pelvic floor muscle weakness, how pelvic floor exercises can help, and how to perform pelvic floor exercises.
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Relaxing: What You Should Know (Urology Care Foundation): High-level overview of why learning to relax the pelvic floor muscles is important and how to do it.
- Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength: What You Should Know (Urology Care Foundation): High-level overview of why strengthening the pelvic floor is important and how to do it.
- Downloadable Pelvic Floor Exercise Handouts (National Association for Continence): Comprehensive guide of pelvic floor and full body exercises to strengthen and improve control of pelvic floor muscles.
- List of pelvic floor exercise apps (International Urogynecological Association): These apps explain different pelvic floor exercises, provide reminders to complete your exercises, and help set goals and track progress.
Videos
- Pelvic Floor Exercise Videos: (National Association for Continence) Online library of videos that show you how to perform simple, at-home pelvic floor exercises ranging in difficulty levels for individual with different levels of physical fitness.
- Pelvic Physical Therapy for Stress Urinary Incontinence: (English, 11 minutes) This animated video explains what stress urinary incontinence is, and walks through exercises and strategies that can help you to manage and treat the condition.
- Terapia Fisica Pelvica Guiada para Incontinence Urinaria de Esfuerzo: (Spanish, 13 minutes) This animated video explains what stress urinary incontinence is, and walks through exercises and strategies that can help you to manage and treat the condition.
- Breaking Free from Incontinence: A Journey to Reclaiming Confidence and Comfort: (English, 18 minutes) Dr. Sampselle discusses urinary incontinence, the impact it can have on women’s lives, and three strategies to reduce or prevent urine leakage.
Audio Recordings
English recordings of guided pelvic floor exercises (UroToday):
- Practicing "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Squeezes To Stop Incontinence (Bladder Leaks) (5 minutes); Transcript for Practicing "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Squeezes To Stop Incontinence (Bladder Leaks) (PDF, 84 KB).
- Practicing "Quick" and "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Exercises To Strengthen the Muscle and Stop Incontinence (9 minutes); Transcript for Practicing "Quick" and "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Exercises To Strengthen the Muscle and Stop Incontinence (PDF, 92 KB).
- Stress Incontinence (Bladder Leaks), Session of "Quick" and "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (4 minutes); Transcript for Stress Incontinence (Bladder Leaks), Session of "Quick" and "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (PDF, 84 KB).
- Doing 20 "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (10 minutes); Transcript for Doing 20 "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (PDF, 88 KB).
- Doing 20 "Quick" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (4 minutes); Transcript for Doing 20 "Quick" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (PDF, 94 KB).
- Doing Pelvic Muscle Exercises With 20 "Quick" and 20 "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (14 minutes); Transcript for Doing Pelvic Muscle Exercises With 20 "Quick" and 20 "Slow" Pelvic Muscle Strengthening Exercises (PDF, 139 KB).
Other Resources
- The Urology Care Podcast: Bladder Control Episodes: Brief podcasts featuring a wide range of topics relating to urinary incontinence.
- CONfidence App provides easy access to over 70 pages of reliable health and wellbeing information—all in one place. The information on the app is for people with bladder and bowel leakage and those who care for them.
