Gut health and function
10% of all Australian men and women have concerns with bowel control.
This is a significant concern for older Australians.
Faecal incontinence is when you experience involuntary leakage from the bowel at the wrong time or in the wrong place due to poor bowel control. You may also have trouble with excessive wind, urgency or staining of underwear.
There can be many causes of faecal incontinence and a detailed assessment is always warranted. Many conditions can be easily managed - Don’t put up with it!
We recommend discussing you symptoms with your GP. The first assessment may be bowel screening tests and possibly a review by a gastroenterologist or colorectal surgeon.
In many cases, physiotherapy is used to treat the symptoms.
Physiotherapy treatment for bowel issues can include:
Toileting postures
Improving faecal type; diarrhoea or constipation can both be equally bothersome
Pelvic Floor muscle training
Re-learn and coordinate correct bowel emptying using biofeedback training
Using electrotherapy (neuromodulation)